Return to Death Time
by OniJack
Summary: Murdered as a trainer, reborn as a pokemon. - OC. R&R at your leisure.
1. Prologue: Beauty of the Moon

**Chapter 1/Prologue  
Beauty of the Moon**

**Route 25-Kanto/ En Route To Bill's Sea Cottage  
Early Morning**

_I passed through a series of low hedges and entered into a sort of clearing. The beautiful full moon was high in the sky that night and it's silvery light draped the cold environment in a type of soft warmness which could be seen and yet never felt. The silvery light reflected off the dew on the hedge's leaves, a dew which had formed after the rain that had poured not a few hours earlier._

_Had I not been in such a hurry, I might have actually cared._

_It was half-way through the clearing that I first noticed it. The silent sounds of a stalker. I turned around and saw him, edging silently towards me in the shadows, trying carefully not to make a sound. A man in an over-coat who held something in his hand._

_As soon as he realized he had been spotted, he abandoned all pretense and ran all out towards me. His dirty coat whipping out behind him from his own effort. There was no wind that night.  
_

_Instinctively, I reached for my belt, for a pokeball. However, I carried three and could not decide which one to summon. For this moment of hesitation I would suffer. By the time I had a pokeball gripped in my hand, he was upon me.  
_

_He grabbed me by the front of my shirt and brought the item he carried into direct contact with my stomach. It was a knife, short but sharp, he sank the blade into my belly four times. In the cold air, I gasped something intelligible and sagged to my knees. I dropped the pokeball in my hand and it rolled calmly onto the grassy floor. The man shoved me backwards and I laid on the floor while the stranger appeared over me.  
_

_"Where is it?" he hissed at me. "The Nugget! The Nugget!" He searched through my pockets and I suddenly realized what he was after, the tiny Nugget of Gold I had just won for beating five trainers on the Nugget Bridge on Route 24 an hour ago. He must have followed me from there.  
_

_The man let out a cry of joy as he finally found it, stashed with my petty cash, in my left pocket.  
_

_Blood was gushing out of my body. I felt numb. I laid there in a dark scarlet pool and tried to take deep breaths of air, yet suddenly, breathing seemed above me. Impossible and unimportant.  
_

_He went through the rest of my pockets and back-pack for good measure. He found my Pokedex but tossed it to the ground. I heard it crack and realized it was broken. He found my eight Kanto gym badges and stowed them away deep in his coat. The two pokeballs I hadn't picked we're stowed away next, he overlooked the lone fallen pokeball in the darkness; it lay near his feet.  
_

_Then he was gone.  
_

_I gasped for air and tried to reach for my fallen pokeball, but I had long since lost control of my arms; they lay limply beside me. Blood was still gushing out of me and all I could do was fight to keep my eyes open. I looked up and at last, I was able to appreciate the true grace and beauty of my location and of the moon high above me.  
_

_A youngster found my body the next day. My eyes open, a calm expression on my face._


	2. Falling into Uncertainty

**Chapter 2  
Falling into Uncertainty **

**Route 25-Kanto/The Couple's Pond  
Afternoon**

She slapped him. Hard. He stumbled backwards in surprise and she took the chance to shove him into the pond that lay behind him. With that, she turned around on her heels and stormed off sending a loud "Pervert! See you never, Chris!" over her shoulder at him. He rose soggily out of the clear water and sighed.

In retrospect, it had not been a very good date from the start.

He had arrived late at the Pokemon Center. He had refused to take part in the Nugget Bridge battles for fear that he would lose, which made him look like a coward. Their "romantic" stroll through the series of hedges on Route 25 had been interrupted when they stumbled into an area that had been closed-off by the Cerulean Police Department and they had to take a detour, completely missing out on the scenic beauty of the area. Then, all he had wanted was a little kiss to end the day, and had unintentionally tripped and brushed against her chest.

_She really didn't take that well_, he thought as he got up from the knee deep water. _She really didn't take anything else well either... what was that detour about anyway? Something about a murder..._or that's what he thought Officer Jenny had said_. _Not exactly a mood setter regardless.

Chris sighed, wiped his brown hair out of his eyes, and started to trudge out of the water, very glad at the fact that no other couples were here today to witness this scene. His left foot struck something hard and it wedged in the murk, he pulled on it roughly and he suddenly plunged into the water backwards: he had tripped over something submerged in the mud under the shallow water.

Now _extremely_ happy that no one was here to watch this turn of events, he got up and plunged his hands into the water and grabbed hold of whatever it was that had tripped him up. He yanked it out, and suddenly he was holding a small puppy in his hands. A Growlithe, small with orange fur.

It was cold and it didn't make a single movement while Chris held it. Chris held his breath for a moment, then yelled. Jumping out of the pond, Chris laid the Growlithe on the ground and checked to see if it was breathing. Fearing the worst, he was relieved to find the Growlithe was taking shallow and irregular intakes of air.

By now he was not very happy that no one was around to help, he sprang to his feet and pulled his red pack off his soaking back. He rummaged through it and pulled out a blue blanket. It was cold but not wet. He drew it around the Growlithe and started going through his backpack again. His fingers closed around a few bottles and he took them out.

A Revive and two Potions. Reaching over, he sprayed them into the Growlithe's mouth. Almost immediately after, the puppy began to shiver and it's breathing became significantly deeper and calmer.

Chris relaxed and sat down on the ground across the dog and lifted the Growlithe into his arms. He rubbed, trying to dry the soaked pokemon.

He was worried, Revive usually took effect immediately. He didn't know what it meant when the pokemon didn't wake up immediately following the administration of the drug. All he could do was sit and think about how dripping wet he was and where he might change into a fresh shirt and jeans.

A few minutes passed like that and suddenly Growlithe made a soft noise. It's entire body shook and it opened it's eyes slowly. Chris put down the bundle and scrambled to his feet to greet the newly awakened pokemon.

"Growlithe! Are you ok, boy?" he stopped. He didn't really know if this Growlithe was a boy or not, although the thought seemed wildly inappropriate considering...

"Who are you?" asked the Growlithe in a low timbre.

"I'm Chris an-" Chris froze, lost balance and fell back-wards into the pond for the third time of the day. All this was lost on him however as he dragged himself out of the water.

"Y-You... spoke!" he said with a trembling point of his index finger.

"You asked me a question and didn't expect a verbal response? What kind of weird person are you?" the Growlithe asked in a bemused voice, arching its back in a stretch.

"But... you're a pokemon! Pokemon don't talk! They just say their names or-or growl or something..." Chris asked with something like uncertainty on his face. "R-right?"

"Huh? I'm a pokemon?" the Growlithe shook off the blanket and walked over to the water's edge. It peered into the reflective surface and examined itself. "Oh, I guess I am. A Growlithe by the looks of it."

A few moments of silence passed in which Growlithe examined it's face. "Oh yeah...lookin' good. Nice shiny coat and everythin'."

"You... can talk!" Chris gaped.

"Hmm, I thought we already established that? But yeah, it sure looks like it. Strange huh?" said the Growlithe as it peered up at him. "You're wet."

"I... I just fell in the pond didn't I?" admitted Chris."But don't change the subject... you can talk!"

Growlithe looked at him closely. "No, since when I woke up, you were wet," said Growlithe slyly."What happened? You fell in?"

"I-I jumped in to save you!" lied Chris.

"I was in the water?"

"Yeah! Look, you're not wet anymore because of the blanket but you're still sorta cold!" said Chris, while he leaned over and patted Growlithe's fur.

"Oh yeah, I am kinda cold."

Another moment of silence passed during which Chris seemed to try and accept that a pokemon could talk. The expression on his face indicated that he had failed. He opened his mouth but stopped as if trying to select what was the most important thing to ask from a long list of questions. Finally he seemed to have found his voice.

"So why were you in the pond?" asked Chris slowly.

"Uh..." the Growlithe stopped for a second and closed it's eyes. "Dunno..."

"What? What do you mean...'dunno'?" asked Chris apprehensively.

"I mean I don't remember."

"You don't remember how you got in the pond?" asked Chris.

"No, I mean I don't remember _anythin_'." said the Growlithe with a look of concentration.

"You can't remember anything?" said Chris.

Growlithe pulled back its maw into a strange imitation of a human grin. "You're kinda slow, ainchta buddy?"

"Come on," Chris pressed. "There has to be something you remember."

"No... Well, yes. But, it's like a dream... it's blurry ... I remember it was... night? The moon was out... then... a bird? And fire... and... and that's about it..." said Growlithe working through each thought slowly.

"The moon? Fire? A bird? What's that about?" asked Chris with a confused expression on his face. It sounded like gibberish to him.

"Dunno...all I know is that the bird was big and the fire was warm but not hot..."

Chris looked down at the Growlithe and for a second considered the option that he was dreaming. He pushed away that thought almost as soon it appeared. The day had been too real. Far too real to be a dream.

"Do you have like a trainer? A home?" asked Chris now looking concerned. "You probably have amnesia? Who knows how long you were in the pond... it's a miracle you're alive...You need rest."

"A trainer? No... I can't remember..." replied Growlithe, uncertain.

"Weeell he certainly does now," a stranger's voice rang out from behind them near the exit of the series of hedges. Growlithe looked over in curiosity while Chris fell over in shock.

A man appeared. He was dressed in a black ragged cloak. Chris recognized him as the holder and judge of the Nugget Bridge challenge. For the first time, Chris noticed the man had a red "R" on his under shirt which could only mean one thing: Team Rocket. Which of course could only be a synonym for trouble.

"Wha-?" Chris looked over. Something else had caught his attention. The air around him suddenly seemed warmer. Somehow... sharper. Chris looked down and saw that the puppy had suddenly undergone an expression change. Growlithe looked stunned at the sight of this man. Like something had just dawned on it. Like it had just learned something incredible... or horrible. Or both. "Growlithe...?"

"Come here, boy," said the newcomer with a laugh as he held an outstretched fist with a pokeball clutched in it. "A talking pokemon, man whata score!"


	3. HellHound and the Hate

**Chapter 3  
Hell-Hound and the Hate**

"YOU KILLED ME YOU BASTARD!" and before Chris could even generate a gasp of surprise, Growlithe was halfway through the space that separated them from the newcomer rocket grunt.

The Rocket Member looked confused for a moment, no longer sporting the laugh and sneer his face had a second ago. But then he threw the pokeball he held in his hand directly at the speeding puppy. Flames erupted from Growlithe's mouth that shot out and incinerated the flying sphere before it hit its mark.

"DIE!" and with that, Growlithe ran smack into the Grunt's mid-section. The Grunt spat something and crumpled to the floor. Growlithe jumped on top of him. "YOU'LL PAY! YOU'LL PAY!"

Chris reached them then, he grabbed and pulled the struggling puppy off the Grunt.

"Woah, come on! Whats gotten' into you? Calm down!" said Chris while he tried desperately to hold the now exceedingly hot pokemon."Growlithe!"

"He killed me!" roared out Growlithe, struggling against Chris's grip.

"What?" Chris asked, his voice layered with the effort it took to restrain the pokemon. "He what?"

"HE DAMN KILLED ME!" flames seemed to suddenly spring out of the small puppy's fur. Blindingly hot; Chris dropped the struggling form as the heat scorched around him. "He wont get away with it! I wont let him!"

The Grunt jumped to his feet and pulled out another pokeball. He threw it in the air and with a flash of red light, an Ekans appeared. The long and purple snake slipped itself between it's trainer and the enraged Growlithe.

"Wait! That's not possible! You're still alive!" Chris tried to reason. He looked down at his arms and hands and realized that he had received burns from holding Growlithe.

"I don't know! All I know is he killed me!" Growlithe charged straight at the Ekans and sure enough, there seemed to be something like fire raging on it's orange coat. Its once calm puppy dog face had become distorted with fury.

The Ekans looked at the incoming Growlithe and it's eyes became momentarily a yellowish-white. Chris recognized the technique as the paralyzing Glare.

Growlithe didn't even slow down. Suddenly, it's entire coat seemed to be a raging inferno of flames. It ran smack into the Ekans and in a sudden blaze of fire. The Ekans was thrown violently into the air and crashed straight into the ground. Growlithe continued it's mad sprint at the Grunt.

As a trainer, Chris couldn't help but take a second and admire what he had just seen. Growlithe had just combined aspects of Take Down and Flame Wheel and created a devastating attack. Then, as a person, Chris couldn't help but worry what would happen if it tried such an attack on an actual human.

The Grunt had another pokeball in his hands. He was arching his hand to throw it but Growlithe got to him first. In a sudden lunge, Growlithe sent the Grunt flying across the floor. His pokeball soared through the air and bounced on the ground. It had not activated, the pokemon was still inside.

Growlithe jumped and landed straight on top of the Grunt. He held him in place and opened his maw right on top of the man's face. From within its throat orange fire began to appear. Chris recognized what was going to happen. Growlithe was readying a Flame Thrower—he was about to char the Grunt's face off.

"No! Wait!" yelled out Chris. He ran at the pair straddled on the floor but knew he would not get there in time to stop this."Don't do this!"

"I don't wanna die!" the Grunt moaned from the floor.

"NEITHER DID I!" roared out Growlithe.

For a whole eternity, Growlithe and the Grunt seemed to stare at each other. Growlithe with flames dancing in his mouth. The Grunt with tears in his eyes. Fear and fury. The holder of life and the taker.

Then nothing happened. Chris stopped down next to the silent pair on the ground. He looked down at them looking at each other and realized that flames were no longer in the Growlithe's mouth.

Growlithe moved off the Grunt and walked over to the pond's edge. The Grunt remained on the floor for awhile panting. He then jumped off the floor, wiped the tears and sweat off his face, and without a back-wards glance, ran out of the area.

There was a strange silence between Chris and the now calm Growlithe; the atmosphere seemed heavy. Chris took the moment to retrieve the Grunt's forgotten pokemon. First the pokeball that had not been opened and then the Ekans that now lay fainted some distance away from them. He managed to find it's pokeball a few feet from where the Grunt had been tossed by the second Take Down and recalled the pokemon. He then placed the two pokeballs in his pack so as not to confuse them with his own pokemon.

With that done, he approached the pensive Growlithe. He paused shortly behind it, now unsure of what exactly he should say. Comfort the pokemon for not having killed the man? Or berate him for having completely lost it? But before he could proceed, Growlithe spoke first.

"It wasn't him," said Growlithe slowly, more to himself than Chris really.

"He didn't kill you?"

"His smell. It wasn't the same."

"He didn't smell like the guy who killed you? How can you even remember a smell?"

"If some guy killed you and then started going through your stuff while you lay there barely alive..." Growlithe shivered. "You'd remember the smell..." Growlithe looked back at him. "But I smelled him just now and it wasn't him..."

"Maybe he took a bath?" suggested Chris feebly.

"I can't describe it. It's like my nose did something and I just knew..."

"Odor Sleuth." a mechanical voice said from Chris's pocket. Chris looked down, reached in, and took our his pokedex. He opened its casing and examined it for a few seconds.

"It says Odor Sleuth is used in battle to 'negate the foe's efforts to heighten evasiveness,' " he closed the pokedex and placed it back in his jeans. "I never knew a pokedex was water proof... That's good to know."

"What about Odor Sleuth?" asked Growlithe.

"You must have used it without knowing. The guy was sweating. The guy who killed you must have been sweating. Maybe your brain compared those two odors and figured out it wasn't him." suggested Chris, reaching really.

The Growlithe continued to look back at the pond. Chris realized that without even knowing it, he had accepted that the Growlithe before him had been killed and was now alive and talking. Oh yes, it had been a very strange day.

"Growlithe. How bout we head to town? It's gonna get dark soon and I don't like the idea of sleeping outdoors today. Besides, I need to get these burns looked at and turn in that guy's pokemon to the police."

Growlithe looked back at him and at his singed arms, "Oh, yeah... sorry about that."

Chris smiled at him, "S'okay."

Together, they walked to the other side of the pond and used the road to reach Cerulean City.


	4. Please Wake Me Up Someday?

**Chapter 4  
Please Wake Me Up Someday?**

**Cerulean City-Kanto/Pokemon Center-Guestroom 12  
12:34 AM/Wednesday**

"So… you're like a zombie?" asked Chris. He was sprawled on the bed, he was absently leafing through a magazine but his eyes kept wandering to the room's window, and to the dark city beyond them.

Growlithe looked up from the windowsill at Chris with disgust. "Do I look like a zombie?"

"Well… I've never seen a pokemon zombie before," said Chris with a grin. "Well… it's either you're a zombie or you're plain crazy."

The two were resting comfortably in a room on the second floor of the Cerulean Pokemon Center. Theirs for the night. The Rocket Grunt's two pokemon, Ekans (and what had turned out to be a Zubat) had been turned in to the Cerulean Police Station earlier. Now all that was left was to restore some sanity to a ludicrous situation.

"Don't talk in public anymore. The kid who heard you earlier nearly fainted. We don't need more people freaking out about a talking pokemon… kay'?" said Chris. He closed his eyes and tried to sort through what Growlithe had told him.

"Okay…" whispered Growlithe. It's gaze was focused on a pidgey that was flittering across the night sky. It was a rare sight to see a pidgey out after dusk.

"My names Chris by the way. Chris Gemport." Chris said lazily. The time for introductions was long past but the two were barely getting to it now.

"My name's… well… just call me 'Growlithe' I guess…" a note of sadness in its puppy voice.

Chris lifted himself into a sitting position and looked towards the puppy. "You can't remember your name?"

"I already told you I can't remember a thing…"

"But you did have a name?" pointed out Chris.

"Yeah… I did…" said Growlithe, its eyes brightened strangely." I _had_ a name… what does that mean?"

"It means either you had a nickname… or you were human?" asked Chris now with a note of disbelief in his voice. "But that's crazy… you were killed by some guy… and now you're a pokemon? No way…"

"The moon… a bird… and fire…" said Growlithe slowly. "That has got to mean something."

"That again? Your were in the water… maybe you had a dream while you were in there," said Chris, sounding rather bored now. "We've been through this…"

Growlithe jumped down from the windowsill and looked up at him. "What are you?"

"Huh? I'm obviously a human…" said Chris awkwardly.

"I mean… I don't know who you are! Where are you from? You a breeder? A trainer?" asked Growlithe.

"Oh… well like I said my name is Chris Gemport and I'm 14-years-old. I'm from Azalea Town in the Johto region," Chris looked up for a second as if considering something. "Oh and yeah, I'm a pokemon trainer."

"You're a trainer from Johto? Shouldn't you be doing the Johto-Gym-Badge-thing?" asked Growlithe sheepishly.

"Already did. Got to the Johto Elite Four. Got beat badly. So here I am. Doing the Kanto-Gym-Badge-Thing…" Chris looked at the floor for a second and then looked up sharply in surprise. "Woah… wait you know about Gym Badges? I thought you couldn't remember a thing?"

"I meant I can't remember a thing about myself… I can remember other stuff…" said Growlithe looking slightly annoyed. "Don't accuse me of being a liar. It's not nice."

Chris looked weary for another second before sprawling himself back on the bed. "Hey… I wasn't accusing you of anything. Don't get so critical. After all, I forgave the burn you gave my arms."

Growlithe looked up at him and saw the hands and arms that had been wrapped in bandages by Nurse Joy. "Oh… right. Sorry."

"Anyway, I'll introduce you to my pokemon tomorrow. They're downstairs right now."

The two remained in silence for several minutes before Chris decided to speak. "So what exactly do you plan to do? Get the guy who killed you?"

Growlithe looked up quickly. Chris looked over at it and was surprised to find an expression of horror on its face. The small puppy opened it's maw but said nothing. It actually looked as if the pokemon was feeling shame. Or at least that's what it looked like to Chris. He was still new at deciphering the puppy's emotions.

"No… never," said Growlithe in a voice barely above a whisper.

Chris was astounded. Not for the first time that day. If he had been 'murdered', he would want payback. Fast and preferably painfully.

"I thought that Grunt was the guy who did it and I almost… almost…" Growlithe sort of trailed off.

Chris remembered. Growlithe had almost charred the Grunt's ugly mug off. The small puppy had become a mad creature. Albeit, a surprisingly strong mad creature. Disaster had only barely been averted at the last second. And even then, only just barely.

"I don't want to meet the real thing. If I do… I might… I… I dunno…" said Growlithe from the floor.

"So what… you're just gonna let bygones by bygones?" asked Chris a little skeptically. "That's good karma but…"

"No I wont let the bastard get away with it…" said Growlithe slowly. Suddenly it sprang up and landed next to Chris on the bed. " I just… I don't want to… change… to kill… I don't want to be as bad as him. Never."

Growlithe looked up and it had a strange expression on its face. A sort of hardened blazing look.

"I need your help," said Growlithe promptly. "I need to do something. Anything."

Chris lifted himself into a sitting position again. "Find a way to avenge a dead and reborn pokemon?"

"I know it sounds crazy—" said Growlithe quickly.

"I was on a date before I found you."

"Wha? You?" said Growlithe a little skeptically, but mostly sounding as if this topic had come out of left field. And it had, but Chris figured it might be better to explain his situation.

"Yeah. Me. I was on a date. It didn't end well and I ended up in the water," said Chris a little louder. A definite note of annoyance in his voice now. He didn't like how skeptical Growlithe sounded.

"So? Look I need your help—" started Growlithe again.

"I was on a date with Misty," interrupted Chris.

"Misty? Who's that?" asked Growlithe.

"Misty the Gym Leader of Cerulean City," Finished Chris.

A silence pursued this statement. Chris looked like he was concentrating on something he wanted to finish. Growlithe just looked confused.

"You were on a date with a Gym Leader?"

"I came to Cerulean City to challenge her for a Badge. We ended up going on a date before that. Misty is a true romantic you see… and well…" Chris sort of trailed off.

"Well what?" asked Growlithe, now sincerely curious.

"Well things didn't go so well and now she thinks I'm a pervert," finished Chris. Growlithe opened it's mouth but Chris cut it off. "Don't ask. The point is the last thing I want to do now is show up at her Gym, full of her loyal friends, and challenge her to a match. I doubt I'd get out of there alive…"

Growlithe looked at Chris with a bemused expression. "So you want this to... wash over before you challenge her?"

"Yup. So right now, I'm totally free," Chris stood up on the bed, thumbs hooked into his pockets, and looked down at the puppy. "Alright then Growlithe! You want to go on an adventure to avenge your murder? Okay!"

Chris smiled down at the dumbstruck pokemon. "If we find out you happen to be crazy along the way, all the better! Just as long as we put some distance between me and Misty for now, okay!"

Growlithe looked up at Chris and smiled, in a strange way that only a fiery puppy can. "Thanks."

"No problemo," responded Chris.

Suddenly, Growlithe jumped off the bed, landed on the floor, and trotted to the other side of the room. Then it curled up across the room and feigned sleep.

"Growlithe? What are you…" asked Chris, confused.

Suddenly, the door to their room swung open and Nurse Joy flew in. She surveyed Chris standing on top of his bed and screamed: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? IT'S THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND YOU'RE JUMPING AND YELLING ON THE BED? GET TO SLEEP!"

As Chris got into bed, being watched carefully by the smoldering Nurse Joy, he couldn't help but think that Growlithe had a sly, smug smile on its face as it lay curled on the floor.


	5. Purple's All the Rage

**Chapter 5  
Purple's All the Rage**

**Route 5-Kanto/ En Route to Cerulean  
12:54 PM/ Friday**

_ That's not a pokemon_, Karma thought to herself. She had spotted a Growlithe. Walking alongside some pokemon trainer down the dirt-beaten Route 5, towards her, and had immediately gotten the feeling that the Growlithe was much more than what it appeared to be. As the trainer and the Growlithe passed by her, the trainer gave her attire a stunned gawk and gave her a faint, pitying, smile. The Growlithe ignored her completely.

It wasn't unusual for people to stare in surprise at her clothing. She was dressed completely in purple. From her jeans to her hair, which had been dyed. From light purple to dark violet. Purple, purple, purple.

She turned around on the spot and surveyed the back of the Growlithe through narrowed eyes. _A blue aura? No way!_ She thought.

"Excuse me!" she called out to them. The Growlithe and the trainer froze and she briskly approached them.

"Uh, can I help y—," started the trainer but Karma cut him off by walking right past him and approaching the Growlithe. "Huh?"

"You're not a real pokemon are you?" she asked the puppy which was now looking up at her.

Karma looked into the Growlithe's eyes and the Growlithe looked into her eyes. Finally it opened it's mouth and said calmly, "Purple contacts?"

Karma had asked the Growlithe a question but had not actually expected a verbal response. She was a little surprised by this but recovered quickly, not letting her internal surprise mar her features. "No, my eyes are… naturally purple," she said.

**II**

Chris sighed. He was bending over a pot, alternately mixing in spices, vegetables, and salt into a stew while trying to tend to the fire. Behind him Growlithe and the weird girl were talking enigmatically. After their unusual introduction earlier, the girl had decided that she was hungry and tired. Growlithe had agreed and they had stopped at a spot a little ways from the main route-road to make a little camp for lunch.

Chris had been charged with making and preparing the food while the girl and Growlithe just laid about lazily.

It turns out the girl's name was Karma Metrawire. She was a teenager from some other region, her occupation was something she called a "Friend", although she failed to elaborate. Somehow, by just looking at Growlithe when they had walked past her earlier, she had managed to find out the puppy was, for lack of a better word, unusual. She had also almost completely ignored Chris, instead referring directly to Growlithe when speaking and only addressing him directly once: "hey, you. Get started on lunch".

He sighed again, he really disliked her.

"How did you know I wasn't a 'real pokemon'?" asked Growlithe. He was laying on a clump of yellow grass, a long leaf blade sticking out of his maw.

"Your aura. It's blue," said Karma serenely from a boulder she was sitting cross-legged on.

"My aura?"

"Yeah, I've always been able to see the aura of living things," she stretched and yawned. "Yours is blue."

"So… a blue aura… is weird?" asked Chris, more to himself than anything, he wasn't really expecting an answer.

"Yup! For a pokemon anyways," said Karma. Chris was so surprised to have gotten an answer, he dropped a potato. Karma took a deep breath and then said back to Chris with a touch of annoyance, "Don't be such a klutz."

Chris's face bloomed red.

"What do you mean, 'for a pokemon'?" asked Growlithe.

"When it comes to the auras of living things," Karma explained while closing her eyes, and lifting three fingers. "they come in three forms."

Chris dropped some potato slices into the pot. He couldn't help but think that Karma was a 100% certified nut. Talking about auras and dressed like she belonged in a crayon box. Yet he really was in no position to point fingers at insanity. He had after all, just agreed a few days ago to help a living pokemon avenge it's murder. That perhaps was stranger than talking about auras.

"If I look closely, I can see a colored fire surrounding a living thing. In other words, an aura," said Karma with closed eyes. She turned her eyes to Chris, squatting before the pot. "Humans are blue." She shifted her attention to a single lush tree that stood a bit away from their camp, "Plants are green." And finally she turned to Grolwithe. "And pokemon are red. Or at least, they're supposed to be red."

"You said I have a blue aura… so I have a human's aura?" asked Growlithe with a touch of curiosity in its voice. "Huh… am I the only thing you've ever seen with a wrong colored aura?"

"No… actually once…" Karma's voice dropped and Chris looked back from the fire and saw that she had a troubled look on her face. "A long time ago, I saw a man with a pokemon that had a black aura. That pokemon… well, it just felt… wrong, evil… shadowy."

"Shadowy?" asked Growlithe.

"That was a long time ago though. A long time ago, another region ago," finished Karma, it was obvious she didn't want to continue down that road of conversation.

The importance of the topic was not lost on Chris. This girl, perhaps crazy or perhaps not, suggesting that Growlithe was remotely human was, interesting. He turned around and gave Growlithe a fleeting look. They were both in agreement. Whether this girl, Karma, was a loony or not, her saying that Growlithe was somehow human could shed some light on the question Chris and Growlithe had been wondering about for the last three days: Had Growlithe really been human?

Since last Wednesday, when Chris had agreed to help Growlithe, the two had been working towards finding information about the pokemon before it was supposedly murdered. They hadn't found much, nor would they. They had plenty of leads, but until they found something secure, they could not proceed. However, based off the information that they had gathered, Chris had an idea of what to do. He had not yet told Growlithe of his plan, but he had hinted that he had an idea, and this had been good enough for Growlithe. So they were on their way towards Saffron City. Towards Chris' as of yet unrevealed "plan."

Yet, Chris's plan was totally based on unverified information. Chris recognized this and had explained as such to Growlithe earlier, back when they were still in town. If they were wrong, they could totally miss their chance. It was in this manner that Karma was a godsend. She could be crazy but if she could somehow tell them more about Growlithe, then maybe Chris' plan could have a strong foundation. They just needed to know more.

_Yet… being able to see auras can't really be called a strong foundation_, mused Chris as he stirred the stew, which was starting to bubble.

"How can you see auras?" asked Chris.

For the first time, Karma turned back at him and answered his question while looking at him. "Don't drop the potatoes this time 'kay? I suppose you could call me a psychic."

"Psychic?" said Chris, his hopes for solid information leaking away.

"Well, not really. I've heard of those people with amazing psychic ability, like Sabrina of Saffron—people who can move stuff around with a thought and even teleport to wherever they want. I'm nothing like that. I'm a mediocre psychic to be sure."

This was true, there were actual psychics out there, like Sabrina. Chris himself had encountered a few in his journeys. It wasn't a complete stretch to believe that Karma could also be gifted with some psychic power.

"Well Karma, what else can you tell about Growlithe with your… ability?" asked Chris carefully. He wanted information from her, but he didn't want it to seem like they absolutely needed it. For some reason, she struck him as a crafty person and he didn't want to give her any leverage at all.

Karma didn't say anything at all for almost a full minute, suddenly she sprang up on top of the boulder she was sitting on and gave a long stretch and yawn.

"Uh, Karma?" Chris asked, turning around sure that he had once again been ignored.

"My psychic ability may be limited but I really excel at empathy," she said finally.

"Empathy?" asked Growlithe from the grass.

"Reading emotions. I can tell when people lie and how they feel," Karma turned and looked directly at Chris again. "I can tell that he doesn't like me. So I've been ignoring him in turn."

"N-no… it's not that I don't like you, it's-," said Chris quickly while suddenly feeling very exposed.

"It's alright, I don't care. I'm used to it," she said flatly and turned back to face Growlithe. "Though, it's interesting. When he asked if there was anything else I could tell about Growlithe, all I was able to read from both of you was tension. Pure tension. It hung from each word and danced in the air while he waited for an answer. _Very _interesting response to what seems like such an off-hand question."

Growlithe and Chris looked at each other and back at Karma.

"So here's my conclusion," she said while closing and opening her fists in quick succession. "You guys need information on this Growlithe. Anything you can get. The more the better. You guys are doing... "something", and the only way it'll work is if you get info on Growlithe. So you guys were gonna sucker me into giving you any information I could about lil ol' Growlithe, then you were gonna ditch me and go on with whatever it is you were doing."

She paused there and took a few deep breaths.

Growlithe took the moment and gave a long low bark like noise that sounded surprisingly like a whistle. "You make us out to be nothing but deviants and rascals, you do."

Chris was shaking a little. His mouth felt dry. Everything she had said was spot on. She deduced it all from a feeling. He had been right, she was crafty. Worse yet, now she had leverage.

"So the question now is, will I help thee?" asked karma, but it almost seemed like she was asking some unknown source because her eyes were closed.

"Look… we didn't mean to… erm, use you… we just—," Chris wasn't sure what to feel right now. He felt shame but now that he knew she could read him through what he felt, his emotions were in a tangle.

"It's okay, I'm used to people thinking they can use me," she said flatly. "Also, don't try to mask you emotions. From what I've seen, it makes people a nervous wreck and they can't think fluently."

Growlithe didn't look shameful or worried. Or maybe it did, but the Growlithe emotional equivalent of shame looked a lot like amusement. Either way, Chris couldn't figure it out. And despite what she said, if she could read him by what he felt, he couldn't help running around in his own head trying to nail down any careless emotional thought before it betrayed him to her.

"Anyway, let's cut to the deal," Karma said suddenly.

"Deal?" asked Chris, caught off guard.

"Your not getting info from me for free," she simply said. "I'll tell you everything about Growlithe I can find, and in return, I get to come on your adventure."

"You want to come… along?" said Chris a little surprised.

"It sounds fun in any case," said Karma. "So you get information, and I get to know where you guys are going and what you're doing. Then I reserve the right to choose go with you if it sounds like fun. Or not if it sounds stupid or boring."

Chris and Growlithe looked at each other. Chris felt concerned. Growlithe still looked simply amused.

"Anyway, have your answer ready after lunch," said Karma while getting off the boulder.

"After… lunch?" asked Chris.

"Yup," answered Karma. She point behind him at the pot he had forgotten. "Looks and smells done. So I guess it's done. Lets eat."


	6. Time Travel is Your Friend

**Chapter 6  
Time Travel is Your Friend **

"Bayleaf! Mismagius!" Chris held two small pokeballs in his outstretched hands, he swiftly clicked the two white buttons at the center of each small sphere in his hand and they enlarged. "Go!"

He tossed them in the air and they swung open at their center. A sudden red flash appeared, followed by two bodies materializing in front of him. One of the large green reptile-like Bayleaf and the other of the purple floating cloak that was Mismagius.

"Nice Mismagius," said Karma clearly appreciating Mismagius' color scheme. "Hello, my name is Karma Metrawire."

Mismagius and Bayleaf looked towards Karma with gentle amusement. Chris had been trying adamantly to not stare too much at Karma's "strange" sense of fashion.

"Introduce yourselves if you please, Cuerno, Piedra, y Noche!" said Karma suddenly juggling three pokeballs. She tossed them and from the resulting flashes of red light emerged three new pokemon.

Cuerno the rocky-hide Ryhorn. Piedra the round Golem, and Noche the pale Absol.

"Nicknames huh?" Yawned Growlithe lazily from the patch of grass it was laying on. Immediately Karma's pokemon jumped back in surprise. They quickly recovered from their surprise and crowded towards Growlithe. Chris's companions had already been introduced to the talking oddity that was Growlithe some days back in Cerulean.

Chris was actually a little surprised at Karma's line up of pokemon. From her appearance and demeanor, he would probably have bet a lot of money that she wasn't a very serious pokemon trainer. At most, maybe a hobbyist or a pokemon coordinator.

Yet her pokemon were truly fit for neither. Pokemon like Ryhorn and Golem were physically powerhouses. Her pokemon, Absol included, were melee based fighters and brawlers.

Interestingly enough, Chris would also have bet that she would have preferred pokemon of the psychic, ghost, or dark type persuasion. She had struck him as someone who would specialize on special attack and even more on defense if not speed.

A single lonely rush of wind passed through the party's makeshift lunch stop. Chris looked up and saw a pair of Spearow flitter through the air overhead. Far higher up was a single Fearow, soaring among the sparse clouds.

Chris sighed. Had the Fearow been flying much lower, he probably would have made an attempt to capture it. Unfortunately Fearow were notorious for soaring at usually unreachable heights. Even when roosting, their nests were usually in mountains or canyons, so reaching them while they slept at night is almost just as improbable.

Having a Fearow would certainly have made traveling easier for Chris in any case.

He studied the Fearow for a few more seconds, and then he saw it. At first a black dot, it seemed to descend until it was flying next to the Fearow. Chris could have sworn it was a flying green snake or something. It was longer than the Fearow and it sported no wings and yet Chris saw that it had what looked like arms.

Chris reached for his pokedex but Karma called his name and he looked down. He quickly glanced back up, but the flying snake was gone and the Fearow was alone again.

"Hey stop day dreaming. Do we have enough plates?" asked Karma.

Chris looked down, a little disappointed, and yet the question distracted him enough that he soon forgot about what he just seen.

"Uh… yeah, I keep a stack of paper plates in my pack…" he sort of trailed off. He had just counted the total number of pokemon and people there was to feed.

Lunch was a fairly messy ordeal. Chris thought that he had made plenty and yet he had not counted on having to feed a Golem or Ryhorn. The stew had been insufficient and Chris had been forced to skip on his meal for the sake of having enough for the pokemon. He considered it and decided that he really had been rather foolish for not asking how many pokemon Karma carried with her before trying to prepare their meal. Watching everyone else eat while he snacked on a chocolate bar was torture.

After lunch, Cuerno, Piedra, and Bayleaf turned to playing in the tall grass to the general annoyance of many bug catchers. Mismagius and Noche had chosen to nap under the shade of a tree.

Karma sat down next to Growlithe, who was back on his patch of grass. Chris looked at them both and sat down directly in front of them. Throughout lunch he had been trying to see what Growlithe's view on the situation was. Was Growlithe opposed or for Karma joining them? Yet he hadn't gotten anywhere, Growlithe hadn't given Chris a single word, instead choosing to bask in the limelight the other pokemon were giving it for being able to speak.

"What's it going to be, big-boy?" asked Karma.

"Well," Chris looked at Growlithe again, hoping for some, any form of communication, but Growlithe's eyes were closed and it was looking out towards the playing pokemon.

"Lets let her come along. It's boring with only Chris for company. You snore too much," said Growlithe slowly.

Chris didn't like that answer. Personally, he didn't want Karma to come along with them. He simply disliked her and didn't relish the idea of spending too much time with her. Yet, he knew that they had to do what was best. If Karma could help them, he wouldn't oppose her intrusion.

"Okay," he said finally. "If you want to come along then it's fine."

"I get to know what you're doing and where you're going. I am not required to join you but I may do so if I so wish. I also reserve the right to leave your journey at any time. Also remember that by extension of joining you, I also have a reasonable say in our destinations, where we go, what we do, and how we do it," said Karma, as if she was reciting some prewritten contract. "Be aware of what it is exactly you're agreeing to."

"Yeah, okay that's fine," mumbled Chris, a little uncertainly.

"Okay one second," said Karma. "Piedra! Cuerno! Noche!"

Karma's pokemon stopped what they were doing, be it playing or resting, and returned to her side hastily. Chris's pokemon looked in curiosity at what was happening.

"What are you doing?" asked Chris.

"I like my pokemon being informed," said Karma simply. "Knowledge is power. Anything I learn, I would also like them to learn as well. And vice versa."

Chris pondered these words for a minute. He found wisdom in them. He called over his Bayleaf and Mismagius and asked them to listen to the exchange of information as well.

"Okay then, spill it," said Karma. Chris thought he detected a bit of smugness in her voice.

"Alright… I found Growlithe four days ago, Tuesday, unconscious in a pond on Route 25. You familiar with the place? It's near a cape. Obviously encountering a talking pokemon is something a bit out of the ordinary."

"Obviously," yawned Growlithe.

"Even more so when you also consider that the talking Growlithe claims to have no memory of it's life prior to being in the pond and it also claims to have been murdered," Chris stopped for a moment and went on. "That night, after I turned in some pokeballs to the Cerulean police station—"

"Police station?" asked Karma.

"Yes, we ran into a member of Team Rocket. We battled and he fled leaving his pokemon so we turned them into the police. After that, we took a room in the Cerulean pokemon center and it was then that I agreed to help Growlithe," Chris looked at Growlithe again. "Since then, we have been trying to get information that would basically support what Growlithe had said as either truth or lies."

"How?" asked Karma. Absol trotted over and stood next to her trainer. Karma patted its head absentmindedly.

"First we tried to get information on any murders that have recently happened in the area. The police department informed us that there had been one a few days earlier," Chris explained. "Yet having a murder happen nearby is not enough, so we looked for any possible connections."

"What did you find?" asked Karma, her eyes on the lazing Growlithe.

"The murder happened on the same Route that I found Growlithe in," Chris paused. "Yet the murdered person in question was a human trainer, and as you can plainly see, Grolwithe is a living pokemon."

"Eventually, we found out the murder happened on Saturday. Since I found Growlithe in the pond on Tuesday and Growlithe remembers nothing of itself before that point, there's a four day period that we couldn't account for. Basically, we hit a dead end."

"You said dead trainer right? Didn't you try contacting the family? Or finding his pokemon?" asked Karma.

"The police wouldn't give us any details on the case and his pokemon had been transferred to the professor that gave him his pokedex," said Growlithe, strangely placidly.

"We probably should have given up on that lead but it was the only one we had. So we decided to take the few things that Growlithe remembered and apply them," said Chris. " 'Night.' 'Moon.' 'Fire.' 'Bird.' "

" 'Night,' 'moon,' 'fire,' and 'bird'? What's that about?" asked Karma.

"That's all that Growlithe can remember when it comes to his past. We needed a connection and we found it in 'moon' and 'night,' " Explained Chris. "We talked to the person who had found the body—a runt of a kid from Cerulean—and found out that the trainer had been murdered at 'night.' We visited the crime scene, consulted a lunar calendar, and found out that the way in which the body was discovered, the trainer would have had a perfect view of the 'moon' the night he lay dying._ If_ he lay dying that is. It's possible he was dead when he hit the floor or was killed elsewhere and deposited there after the matter."

"That's it? What about 'fire' and 'bird'? Or the four day period after the murder?" asked Karma.

"That's all we could find. We settled that if Growlithe did indeed go from human to pokemon, then those four days could be how long it took for the transformation to happen. Or maybe he was in the pond for those four days and no one happened to find him. Maybe he would still be in that pond if I hadn' fallen in. Maybe…" said Chris.

"Okay, okay. So now you had enough of a connection to determine that the murdered trainer in question _may _have been transformed somehow into Growlithe?" asked Karma. "I get that you needed to confirm that Growlithe may truly have been murdered and not just be insane, but instead of going over the past, shouldn't you be trying to get whoever actually did it? I don't mean to sound rude, but everything you've done so far positively reeks of faith. Bounds and bounds of faith, with very little actual facts to balance them. Instead of obsessing on unprovable events as they _might _have transpired, you should have focused on looking for the murderer. That's the key to this entire ordeal, after all."

"No," said Growlithe quietly. Karma looked at him in surprise. As did many of the pokemon. Not wanting to focus on catching your killer seemed weird.

"Yeah, like Growlithe says, that's not important," said Chris evenly.

"Why?" asked Karma.

"I have a plan that would make catching the killer _now_unimportant. What will matter will be catching him _then_," Chris wanted to say this quickly, because he knew it was going to sound crazy. And why not. Growlithe was crazy. Karma was crazy. Now it was his turn to indulge a little.

"What does that mean?" asked Karma a little startled. She looked towards Growlithe but he looked just as uncertain.

"Yeah, what does that mean? You haven't exactly explained it to me either, Chris," said Growlithe.

"I have a plan. It can't work unless we have enough evidence to directly support that Growlithe really was the trainer that got iced. We needed to be 100% certain," explained Chris. "I know this sounds insane but hear me out. I didn't want to tell Growlithe earlier because I knew he would think this was stupid but…"

"Just say it," said Karma.

"My plan is to not catch the killer now, but catch the killer before he commits his crime," said Chris. "My plan is to go back in time."


	7. ExSiblings in my Dreams

**Chapter 7  
Ex-Siblings in my Dreams**

In spite of himself, Chris blushed a deep scarlet red. Everything had gotten very quiet. Even Mismagius was a little unsettled by what he had just said. Only Bayleaf suddenly leapt up and seemed to understand. Karma looked like she was seeing Chris clearly for the first time, sort of looking at him and calculating something at the same time. Yet her pokemon and Growlithe looked like they thought Chris might suddenly have turned very stupid or something.

"Oh yeah, and you thought _I_ was crazy, eh?" laughed Growlithe.

Bayleaf had good reason to understand what Chris meant. Bayleaf had been his first pokemon. They together had shared many adventures in their childhood and it now knew where Chris was going with his plan.

"Listen, please, before you decide that I'm nuts," said Chris. "This could work. Remember I come from Johto. From Azalea Town, which is right next to Ilex Forest. We could go and ask the guardian of the forest to help us. Celebi has the power to transcend time!"

"Celebi?" asked Growlthe. "What's that? What's a forest guardian?"

"Celebi? As is the legendary pokemon that no one even knows for certain exists, Chris?" countered Karma. For some reason, she inexplicably turned towards Growlithe and her voice betrayed a note of anger "Your whole plan is to get a Celebi to send you back in time? I don't want to believe you're crazy, Chris, but that's getting really hard to do."

"That's the big plan, Chris?" asked Growlithe, losing his usual good humor and descending into a grave tone. "Getting a pokemon that we can't be certain exists, to use a mythical power, to send us back in time? Are you freaking serious?"

"The reason that I want to go to Ilex Forest to look for Celebi is that I know that Celebi is there," said Chris calmly.

"How do you know, Chris?" said Karma.

"Because, both me and Bayleaf have met Celebi before," finished Chris.

"You wha?" asked Growlithe now looking at Bayleaf.

Bayleaf was nodding its long head. A long sound of pleasure escaping its mouth, it began to stamp its front feet several times.

"When I was younger, and when Bayleaf was a Chikorita, we met Celebi in the forest. We helped it. If we can find it, I know it will help us too," finished Chris a little more melodramatically than he would have liked.

"Okay fine. So maybe it does exist, you realize you're talking about a legendary pokemon right? There's a reason they're so rare. Finding Celebi will be hard enough. What if it doesn't remember you?" asked Karma. Chris was finding out that, despite how she dressed, Karma was a very down to Earth sort of girl.

"I just know that if we find Celebi, it will work out, alright?" said Chris simply.

Karma didn't say anything for a while. A strange silence had descended upon the group. Bayleaf had settled back down and Karma seemed to be thinking about something. Growlithe still looked confused.

"So, the reason that you want any information that I can tell you is that you really need to be certain that Growlithe was that trainer who got murdered?" Karma suddenly turned towards Growlithe, she had a strange look on her face.

"Yeah, if we find Celebi and somehow get the wrong trainer, history gets changed. So if Growlithe ends up back in that pond, I might not find it this time," explained Chris. "We need to get the right trainer, the first time. It's really important, so anything you can tell us with a connection between Growlithe and the dead trainer will help."

"So help us out, Purples," yawned Growlithe. It's earlier trace of anger gone and it was settling back on its haunches again.

Karma looked at Growlithe for a long while. She reached over and patted his head. Then she got up and walked a few feet away, she talked while facing away from them and when she spoke her voice was a bit strained.

"This Growlithe is, for sure, the human trainer that got murdered," she finally said. "No doubt at all."

"What? For sure?" cried Growlithe and Chris almost perfectly together.

"Yes. From his aura, I can tell his age, and it matches with the age of the murdered trainer…" she said very steadily. "Just a little over 17 years."

"17 years…but…how did you know the trainer's age?" asked Chris. "I never told you his age… I don't even know his age..."

"This Growlithe, has his aura too actually…" a soft wind blew and she paused for a second. "The trainer's name, it was Greg Metrawire. He was my brother and the only one that I have ever known to call me 'Purples' while yawning."

"His… sister?" whispered Growlithe. "Then you're…"

Chris could merely gape at this development. Shame spread out slowly as well, he had been after all, referring to this 'dead trainer' like it meant nothing at all. Saying how it would mean nothing to save his life and not Growlithe's…

"You're as lazy as ever, brother," she said. She turned around. Chris could have sworn she would have had watery, teary eyes. Yet, she had nothing of the sort. Only an accusing glare covered her face. "I came from home to identify the body. I just got off the S.S. Aqua yesterday. You've caused our family a lot of pain, big-brother."

She came back and sat next to Growlithe. "I agree. I will accompany you on this journey to help my brother."

**II**

Nearly fifty people, adorned solely in black, stood facing towards the center of the large, dark chamber. The mood was tense and everyone stood around with baited breaths, but it was just this way that the leader liked it.

The center of the room was lone and empty. It was the only illuminated area of the room, a large beam of light reflected down from the ceiling, blinding anyone who stepped inside; it was this way so that the questioned would get more tense, and in turn, would say more.

"Bring him in," said the highest voice. A large bulky shadow standing on what might have been a throne, high above everyone else. The leader.

A door at the opposite end of the room opened quickly and two more people dressed in black brought in a third figure clad in chains. They threw him in the center of the room, and all who could see now could make out his tattered clothes, his bruises, and scars. He had been tortured.

"You may leave," said the leader slowly, dismissing the two guards with a brush of his hands. The two new arrivals made a salute and left quickly. The body in the center of the room was breathing heavily.

"What did you see?" asked the high shadow simply.

"I saw nothing! I saw nothing! Please! I didn't see nothing!" sobbed the man on the floor, lifting himself on his front arms. He couldn't stand. His legs were long since broken. "Please boss, I didn't—"

"Listen carefully." This was directed at the people who surrounded the room. "This is a classic case of mistake. He returned to Rocket Base 17 outside Cerulean City several days ago. A beaten mess, he cried tales of talking pokemon. He got what every grunt gets if they dare come back beaten and without pokemon. He got… 'educated.' "

The man in the center let out a louder sob at this.

"Yet eventually, a confirmed story of a talking pokemon appeared from Cerulean. It appears that there was some truth to what he was spouting. If what this fool says is true, then not only is this said pokemon extremely rare, but it is also extremely powerful, capable of combining different attacks simultaneously to create a... shocking offense."

Talk instantly broke out between the people in the room, yet the leader silenced them with a wave of his hand.

"Unfortunately, by then, this fool had already been 'educated' and he became unwilling to speak of his incident," the high shadow let out a low laugh. "So now… we need the aide of a friend in order to break his reeducation and loosen his tongue."

The leader snapped his fingers and panel slid away from the left wall, revealing a secret door. Several people who had been standing there hurried away. From within emerged something that may have been half mechanical and half alien. Tall and slender, clothed in mechanical armor and visor, stood the form of Mewtwo, the strongest pokemon.

"If you will Mewtwo, persuade him to talk," said the high shadow, with a small flourish of his hands.

Mewtwo lifted a single arm and pointed it at the body on the floor. The man screamed, his cries bouncing around the room, tears falling from his eyes. His body writhing in the little free movement that it was allowed.

The high shadow raised an arm and Mewtwo stopped exerting pressure on the man's body.

"Now then, what did you see?"

"It was a Growlithe! A trainer, teenage—a twerp, found him in the pond on Route 25!" he paused to gasp. "It said that it had no memory…"

"That's all? Most of that we already knew…" said the voice standing up. "Do you wish to disappoint me?"

The room had gone silent and cold, the man's sobbing ceased.

"Please Giovanni…please, that's all I know… please have mercy," whispered the shivering bundle on the floor. "Please..."

"Mewtwo, eradicate him," said Giovanni. Mewtwo pointed its slender arm at the man again, he was instantly flicked into the air. He rose higher and higher until he was near the high ceiling.

"Please no… Mercy! Please! That's all I know!" squealed the man.

He dropped with astounding speed, towards the floor, mere seconds away from splattering on the pavement, when he screamed: "Fire bird!"

The body stopped its thrilling descent a few inches from the ground.

"What?" asked the standing form of Giovanni.

"That pokemon… it… it said something about a 'fire bird' or something… something like that…" he was still paralyzed in midair, he turned his head to see what Mewtwo was doing and shook violently when he saw Mewtwo's arm was still pointing at him. "Maybe 'moon bird'… or 'fire bird'… I know I heard it say something like that…"

Giovanni looked at the shivering man for a whole minute before he proceeded. " 'Moon bird'? That could be the legendary pokemon Cresselia… 'fire bird'? Maybe the legendary Moltres?" he turned his back on the scene. "Yes… legendary pokemon, it would be interesting to see how Mewtwo stacks up against such pokemon… yes…"

Giovanni turned to look towards Mewtwo. "What do you think…_partner_?"

_If that is my purpose_, thought Mewtwo. It's psychic thoughts reached everyone in the room.

Giovanni laughed. A truly sick laugh it was, he turned and strode towards a door behind his throne-like chair.

"Wha… what about me, boss?" cried out the levitating man.

"Huh?" Giovanni stopped and turned around. "Oh yes. How careless of me. Kill him."

The grunt's last cry echoed throughout the hallways of the Viridian Gym, until eventually even a few trainers in the public area heard the blood-curdling scream.


	8. This City is Dirty

**Chapter 8  
This City is Dirty**

**Saffron**  
**1:21 PM/Saturday**

There's a funny story running around the smaller towns of Kanto. Small and remote places usually have strange rumors and ideas but this one, this rumor, in particular can seem oddly real if you pay Saffron City a little visit. They say, you see, that Saffron is controlled by Team Rocket.

Chris had heard this rumor a little while ago. He couldn't remember where, probably heard it off-hand one day at a Pokemon Center, and he hadn't spared the thought any actual perspective until the day they actually entered Saffron itself.

It was a beautiful metropolis. High buildings and high sights. If you wanted to, you could really see the beauty of this sprawling place of cement terraces and winding paths.

It was also a strangely_ longing_ place. It felt somehow haunted. Crooked buildings, filthy air, and streets that literally didn't go anywhere. Yes, Chris could definitely see two sides to this city. One sort of made you want to come back and the other just made you want to forget it as soon as you left.

Walking back from a road which had been blocked by a huge building, Chris looked sideways at Karma and saw that she looked somewhat perturbed.

There were people dressed in black walking all around this huge city. People that looked at the three companions strangely, as if trying to check something. Eventually, it was obvious that the same faces were walking past them. Faces, faces, faces. Faces that all looked hungry for something.

In fact, it was all too easy for the human mind to see that Saffron was under siege by Team Rocket. Upon walking down the residential areas, Chris had seen people dressed in black simply blocking doorways. As if stopping anyone from getting in. Or getting out. Once, upon passing such a home, Chris had looked up at the second floor and seen a small girl's face. Tear marked and pressed against the dirty window.

It was a very spooky experience over all. Chris wanted to get to the Magnet Train and leave as soon as possible.

Only problem was, they were lost.

Chris gave a long sigh and looked up. He saw a huge building. A man. Dressed in metal—

Chris dropped his head but snapped it back up instantly. The man was gone. If he had really ever been there. Chris considered it for a moment and finally decided that he had just imagined what he saw.

"Have you noticed?" asked Karma in something a little higher than a whisper, when they had reached another dead-end.

"Yeah," replied Growlithe.

"Em... noticed what?" asked Chris, lazily.

"We're being followed," said Karma simply, she turned around and walked right back down the street. Growlithe following her. Chris hesitated and followed as well.

She didn't say anything after that, but Chris started paying more attention and in less than twenty minutes he could see she was right. Two men and one woman, dressed in black, were trailing them as a distance. Aside from them, it seemed that about fifteen people kept coming by them. As if circling.

"Let's just make sure," said Karma. She stopped and went to a bench next to the road. "Follow my lead."

Growlithe jumped up on the bench and Chris followed as well. The three stalkers stopped as soon as they did. A little hesitatingly for now they were in open view. Then after about five minutes they continued. Eventually they passed the bench where Chris, Karma, and Growlithe rested. They each looked side ways at them, with something much more than malice in their eyes (something like hunger Chris would say), but they didn't stop, they continued and eventually disappeared behind the next corner.

"So what now? This place is crawling with Team Rocket... and by the looks of it, they're waiting for something," said Chris.

"Probably an order. They're going to try and catch Growlithe," she said calmly.

Chris looked at her and asked, "are they gone?"

Karma looked at him, a small smirk spread across her eyes. "I'm pretty useful now huh?" and with that, (her eyes seemed to shine softly, thought Chris) she looked at the corner curb and said, "no, they're loitering there. Probably waiting for us."

"One thing's for sure, we can't stay in this town any longer. We're lost in their territory. The moment they decide to pounce, we'll have nowhere to go..." said Growlithe silently.

"Yes. We have to leave. Quickly. Maybe head back to Cerulean and get a map or something of Saffron. Find exactly where that Magnet Train is," spoke Karma.

"Why Cerulean? That place is a ways from here. We need someplace closer," said Growlithe.

"Yeah but we're still lost," said Chris pensively.

"Oh?" said Growlithe and motioned across the street, where is said boldly across a neat and somewhat out of place building "Saffron City West Exit-To Celadon City"

**II**

Giovanni arrived about one hour after that. His helicopter touched done on the Silph Headquarters building. He sprung out, pushed aside the grunt who had dared to welcome him and approached Mewtwo, (he'd deal with that Grunt later) who was dressed in his metallic suit, standing near the edge of the building.

"Where are they?" asked Giovanni.

_Gone_, replied Mewtwo in it's usual psychic thought.

"They have escaped?" Giovanni fumed.

_They exited Saffron and set out to-wards Celadon_, thought Mewtwo. _We were ready to take them here, but we thought it would be best for you to be here when we did so._

"Why did they leave?" asked Giovanni.

_It would seem that they realized they were being followed. Logically, they saw they were surrounded and decided to leave this place immediately._

"So they're headed towards Celadon?" asked Giovanni.

_Yes_, replied Mewtwo.

"We have members in Celadon. Not nearly as many as we have here in Saffron, but we have a force there... this will be as far as they get... if we prepare correctly..." said Giovanni.

_First we must separate them. That will allow us to take one hostage. Then we may lure the rest_, thought Mewtwo placidly. It wasn't worried. The distance from Saffron to Celadon was a little under half a day's walk. They had plenty of time.

"Alright, let's head over Partner! Let's not make any more mistakes!" said Giovanni. Something like a strained smirk paced his face at "partner," but it disappeared shortly after that.

They looked at each other for a few seconds, man and pokemon, then Mewtwo looked up and suddenly disappeared. Teleported. Giovanni turned around and got back into the helicopter. The bumbling pilot asked him why he even bothered to use a helicopter when he could have Mewtwo teleport him with itself. Giovanni slapped him silly. "Fool! I refuse to depend on a pokemon, any pokemon, any more than I absolutely have to."

Giovanni looked back at Saffron as they sped through the air. Giovanni liked Saffron, it was like a model that all locations were soon to follow. The grunt who had dared to speak to him and this idiot pilot, they would be "educated" later. For now that would have to wait until they had this Growlithe in their possesion. Dimly, he recalled a talking Meowth and that image brought no warm feelings. A talking cat and a talking dog, perhaps there was a connection.


	9. Unsteady Ways

**Chapter 9  
Unsteady Ways**

**Route 6-Kanto/En-Route to Celadon City**  
**6:45 PM/Saturday**

They got about a third of the way to Celadon. Pretty good, Chris would later think back, considering they practically had what amounted to a small army after them. That and Mewtwo after all.

They were passing a particularly open section of the path with no trees around when it happened, a black helicopter zoomed out above them, it's blades causing a loud whistle in the evening silence. Karma was quicker than Chris, she had seen the red rocket painted on the helicopter. She knew what was coming.

She threw her pokeball in an arc, red light gushed forth and Piedra, her Golem, appeared.

Giovanni appeared, stepping lithely away from the helicopter. Dressed in a simple black suit, giving off an impressive aura, his eyes alive with the passion of having seen things that would drive any other insane: the boss of Team Rocket. He smiled a calculating sneer, and greeted them warmly. Addressing himself as Master Giovanni, he calmly told Karma and Chris that they could either leave Growlithe here, drop their pokeballs on the floor, and scuttle on home. Or...

"Die." He grinned widely at them and winked at Karma. "And maybe a little more than that..."

Golem let out a deafening below and charged straight at Giovanni. In mid run, it jumped, curled into a ball, and was few mere feet from slamming into Giovanni and transforming him into so much road kill when Golem simply froze.

It's rotation didn't stop, it kept spinning, it just suddenly rose into the air, and a strange blue aura engulfed it's body.

"Pathetic," scoffed Giovanni, and snapped his fingers. Golem opened up from it's spherical mode and went flying through the air, crashing into the ground with a resonating vibration.

"Piedra!" Karma cried out, she ran to her Golem. Chris stood rooted to the spot. A little white. Growlithe shook in awe.

It appeared. In a flash of dazzling light, a slender body appeared in front of Giovanni. Covered in a strange metallic armor, it's large tail protruding upward.

"Mewtwo!" cried out Giovanni in a hoarse laugh.

"Mewt—?" gasped Karma.

A wave of blue energy flew out from Mewtwo's body and sent Chris and Growlithe flying off their feet.

Chris looked up. In his surprised and fearful state, the imposing Mewtwo and maniacal Giovanni seemed something more like a divine image than earthly danger.

A red light snapped Chris out of his daze. Cuerno, Karma's Ryhorn appeared. "Chris! Hurry up and lend a hand!" she practically fumed. Piedra was slowly rising to it's feet. Admittedly somewhat wobbly.

He reached for his pokeball, but a quick look from Giovanni cut him somewhat short. "Don't be a fool, boy. You're in some hot water now, but pursue your chosen course of action and you will end up in a world of pain."

Chris clenched his jaw. He really didn't like this guy. No, he reserved dislike for someone annoying, like Karma. What he felt for Giovanni then, it was hate. A red light and Chris' Bayleaf appeared. "No mercy, boy. This is one bad dude!"

"Ryhorn, Megahorn!" cried out Karma.

Cuerno lowered it's head and charged. It's first steps shook the earth and it seemed anything hit with that power would be no more. yet with a flick of Mewtwo's long arms, Ryhorn was clouded in blue light and sent flying, landing several yards away. Golem was rolling again, it approached Mewtwo just as Ryhorn had been sent flying, yet just as before, it was stopped in midair and opened up from it's round posture.

"Hyper beam!" said Karma.

Golem roared and, from it's mouth, a bright orange sphere appeared. Instantly Mewtwo was engulfed in the beam that stretched from this point, but moments after the light died away, Mewtwo appeared completely unharmed. It had shrouded itself in a blue bubble, protecting itself, and Giovanni and the helicopter behind it.

"Razor leaf!" cried Chris, and seconds later, a steady stream of leaves flew out toward Metwo, but with a simple wave, they ceased their direction and flew randomly away.

This distraction is all it took. Ryhorn appeared quickly from the side and rammed into Mewtwo, sending the feline figure sprawling to the floor.

"That's right! Teamwork!" said Karma in ecstasy. "No problem!"

Chris himself could hardly contain a smile at this small accomplishment. Or maybe it was at being praised by Karma, a part of him wondered.

Mewtwo rose to it's feet slowly, as if judging something. When it was fully standing, it stretched out it's arms and roared. Blue lighting erupted from it. It branched out wildly and reached Bayleaf, Cuerno, and Piedra. Instantly, the air was full of their screams of agony, they were lifted off their feet and sent flying through the air, crashing horribly away. Whatever move that had been, its results were devastating—all the opponents had been decimated.

_Never_, the thought rose out toward them. _Never ever dare to think. That any of you. Are my equal! _The thought was like a dagger that had been planted right into their minds, and Chris couldn't help but clutch at his head as the feeling passed.

"Cuerno! Piedra!" screamed Karma. She ran toward Piedra, but Mewtwo turned to her and suddenly she was flying. In psychic pokemon's fury, she was sent soaring through the air. And then she smacked to the floor and all she was was a crumpled purple heap on the floor. Breathing haggardly.

Suddenly, Mewtwo stopped. Through it's metallic visor, it seemed to stare at Karma. As if realizing something.

Giovanni laughed. "Get the boy too. He needs to learn a little respect as well."

Mewtwo looked up and flicked it's hand. Chris was in the air, falling, and with a thud, he was on the floor.

It wasn't as hard a fall as Karma had suffered and Chris knew it. It had hurt, nearly did knock him out, but it didn't and that was the difference. He was conscious. But just barely.

Growlithe was numb. It had seen it's friends get thrown. Those who had agreed to help it, to protect it, had suffered defeat. He had felt the raw power of this pokemon, Mewtwo. Now Growlithe was also feeling another familiar feeling: rage.

It was strange. Flashes of heat and moments of cold. Numb and anger, dreaming and awake. Growlithe roared. This roar was not a normal roar, it couldn't be. It was backed up with the power of something deeper than noise and sound. It was a sonic manifestation of fury.

For the first time since he had arrived, Giovanni looked startled, unsure. Mewtwo simply looked annoyed.

Mewtwo raised it's arms toward the sky and in one swift motion, rain began to pour, splashing heavily around them. _Rain dance will halve the damage you can do doggy_, thought Metwo aloud. _Oh and you should know, Thunder is unavoidable in the rain! _

The dark sky lit up. A huge lightning arc slammed down on Growlithe, and suddenly the small puppy was down. Down and out.


	10. Burn Away this World

**Chapter 10  
Burn Away this World**

The rain stopped. Somewhat abruptly, but it stopped. Mewtwo, looked at the downed figure of Growlithe and lowered its head. _Pathetic_, it thought somewhat solemnly. _Simply pathetic_. _To think I lost my self over _this_..._

Giovanni strode over to look at the girl and then over to look down at the boy. He jumped over a puddle (Mewtwo looked a little amused by this, Giovanni jumping a puddle) and kicked Chris right in the face.

"He's still conscious..." drawled Giovanni looking down at him. Chris groaned and Giovanni kicked him again. Harder.

**II**

**Celadon Rocket Base, B3**  
**Prisoner cell 22**

Chris coughed. Someone slapped him.

"Chris!" In a breathless whisper. "Wake up!"

He opened his eyes and he was in darkness. And from that blackness, a voice drifted from his left. "Wake up!"

Chris was wrong. Someone hadn't slapped him. Someone had kicked him. Right in the face.

Karma's face loomed out of the darkness and she was above him like some ghostly figure. A purple ghost.

Chris nearly screamed.

"Shut up! The guards only just left!" Karma hissed. Chris got up, or at least as up as he could get. More like a bent sitting position. His hands were tied behind his back tightly with a rope, but his legs were free. He tried to look around but the room was too dark to see much.

"What's going on?" Chris said woozily. A numb feeling on his lips and nose. "Where are we?"

"Celadon," said Karma. "The guards were having a nice long conversation and they mentioned going to the Game Corner after their shift. Celadon's the only city with one... in Kanto anyways."

"Celadon? But how did we..." Chris suddenly recalled the events that had brought them to their current situation and he sprung to his feet. He had been sitting and jumping up from the position tangled up his legs and he fell face down, hard. A simple moan escaped his lips. He felt wobbly.

"Don't get up too fast... we've been drugged," said Karma as she slowly got to her feet. She didn't seem to have any trouble.

"Drugged?" asked Chris as he got back into his sitting position. His face felt warm. He recalled having been recently kicked a lot.

"Yeah, injected in our legs. Don't tell me you didn't notice? They're numb..."

Come to think of it, she was right. Chris' legs did feel numb. Actually. It felt like he had no legs at all, but they seemed to move easily enough. "Where's Growlithe?"

"Obviously locked up somewhere," she answered.

Karma jumped into the air. In one swift motion, she crouched her body and the swung her arms under her legs. When she landed, her arms were now tied in front of her body. Chris could only watch, mouth gaped, at her action. He certainly couldn't do _anything_ like that. He'd probably break something if he tried.

In her new position, she knelt down on one leg and examined the rope that binded her arms together. Chris was about to ask what she was looking at exactly when she sighed. "Really, this is too crude. Even for Team Rocket..."

Suddenly, with a slight snap. She pushed her arms apart and the rope ripped off. The skin where the rope had tied was slightly red. "Hurry up and get yours off."

Chris looked at her with an open mouth. She gave him a can't-you-do-anything look, and turned him around. Chris had about a second to enjoy the sensation of her hands holding his before he felt a burning in his wrists. With a sharp snap, the rope came off. The red of his skin a testament to how hard she had pulled, which whipped away any thoughts he may have had seconds prior.

The cell they were in was dark, with no lights inside. The only source of illumination was the room on the other side of the door. The door had small bars in it which the Grunts used to look into the cell. This small hole only lit up the center of the cell and left the corners and walls pitch dark.

Chris got up carefully while rubbing his wrists and approached the door. Since the Grunts just used rope to tie them up, he was hoping the doors would also have a simple lock. Unfortunately, this was not the case. It looked like Team Rocket used key cards as security, there was no number pad to guess or key to steal._ Well actually_, Chris supposed, _a card key is only as useful as a key_. _We just need to steal one._

__Suddenly the door to the bright cell room opened and a Grunt appeared mumbling something about golf. Karma appeared suddenly at his side and shoved him against the wall directly to his right. With his numb legs, he easily slipped and slammed into the darkness of the corner. When he looked up, he saw that Karma had hidden herself on the left corner of the wall, right opposite to him. She raised a finger to her mouth. A simple sign that meant, "shut the hell up."

The Guard's face appeared in the bars of the cell and his eyes quickly scanned the dark cell. For a moment, Chris thought his small beady eyes had stopped and rested on Chris but obviously he did not, as he moved on.

The guard cursed loudly. "Where da' hell those brats go?"

Chris suddenly understood. Karma was banking that upon seeing that Karma and him were both missing, he would open the door to check inside. Chris was sure the Grunt would simply turn on the lights. Or call for back-up. There was no way he would just open the cell door, no one was _that_ stup—

With an electronic click, the door opened and the Grunt stepped into the room hurriedly. He spun around and, in an instant, Karma struck. In what seemed like a speed up of a martial arts film, she leaped out of her shadowed corner, and round kicked the Grunt in the face. _A purple kick_, mused Chris.

The Grunt toppled over. His key card sliding smoothly out of his hand and landing on the floor. Karma scooped up the card and inspected it. Chris tried again to get to his feet. By the time he was up, Karma had turned to him.

"We have a key card now. Shouldn't that make getting around a lot easier?" asked Chris.

"I doubt it," said Karma with disgust.

Chris was lost. "But we have a key card! If all the doors require key cards, doesn't that mean we have complete access around this place?"

Karma looked at him with an eyebrow raised and held the key card up to his eyes.

"Clearance D-Grunt?" he mouthed the letting on the card.

"Yup. This place may hire idiots, but I doubt they entrust complete security to such fools," she said. "This will get us through some rooms, but if this complex is as big as I suspect, we won't get anywhere near where Growlithe should be..."

Chris could see Karma had a point.

She turned and walked right out of the cell and entered the bright room beyond. Chris followed, but not before closing the cell door, locking the knocked out grunt in their place.

"It doesn't matter anyways. Even with the proper clearance cards. Some kids without the proper uniform wont go far without getting noticed and recaptured..."

"So how are we going to get around?" asked Chris.

Karma pointed up, Chris looked and saw a ventilation shaft grating. "We're going to scale the shafts."

"You think that will get us far?" asked Chris.

Karma began to pull a desk from the corner of the room directly underneath the shaft. "Of course, even the bosses need air."

**III**

The scientist looked down at the readings and his mouth hung agape. _No way!_

He typed a few more figures into the computer and more numbers sprung up. Each more impressive than the last. This was the type of thing that cemented your legacy and reputation at a place like Team Rocket. This kind of discovery... as long the scientist could give the boss the impression that he knew exactly how to extract the energy... give the impression that he had ideas. Cement the idea of the mutt and his name together. Make himself indispensable to the project...

The scientist looked up, through the glass, right at the specimen. A small orange puppy tied up as blue energy was sent through its body in long bolts. It was staggering to know such a small frame contained such amazing prospects...

With shaking fingers, the scientist picked up the phone.

**IV**

The alarm finally sounded. _About damn time_, thought Chris. They had been wandering around the shafts for about an hour and 40 minutes. Getting a feel for the locations and rooms around the base. They had found the kitchens, lounges, and even bathrooms. They were looking for Growlithe, but they also realized that they needed back their pokemon if they stood half a chance of making any sort of escape.

An explosion rocked the base around them. The duo froze wondering what that was about. Some sort of alarm? When nothing else happened they continued.

Karma was leading Chris. The vents themselves were actually pretty dirty.

Below them in the hallway a group of grunts marched off. Karma stopped in front of Chris. The shafts were small and they were on all fours. Chris looked up, directly at Karma's butt and looked down quickly. His face felt surprisingly warm.

"Hey... let's try this room," said Karma. She stopped crawling and turned left, heading along another shaft. Chris followed. They entered a dark room. It looked sort of like a janitor's closet. Karma banged on the shaft opening and it popped open. She jumped down and landed gracefully. Chris tried to get into a position to jump down but when he did, all he managed to do was land on his back.

Karma searched across the dark wall with her hands when she came across the light switch. She flicked them on, and they found themselves in what actually did amount to the Janitor's closet. A desk, several cleaning instruments, and a drawer.

Karma opened each desk cabinet, while Chris looked into the drawer. "This could be useful." He said opening the drawer for her to see. Several Team Rocket uniforms were stored inside in their standard black color. Karma looked up and studied them.

With a nod she acknowledged them. "That could help us look around, we haven't had much luck so far in the vents." Karma pulled something into view. A key card. "Clearance S-Services. It wouldn't surprise me if Janitors got more access than the average Grunt."

"Let's change into Rocket gear and look for a map." said Chris.

Karma looked blankly at him, she pointed to directly behind him. A large map was tacked onto the door of the room. Something which looked like a map of the base.

Chris gaped. _17 different floors?_

The map depicted what amounted to 17 basement levels. According to the map, they were actually underground. Under the Game Corner in Celadon to be precise. It seemed as if the bosses quarters were on B17. Also, the map depicted that they were on B6. By quickly scanning the map, Chris found that the basement floors, as they descended, got smaller in terms of rooms.

"There," said Karma, as she pointed to a single room in B12. "'Confiscation Room', I'd bet that's where Team Rocket keeps everything they steal."

As Chris studied the map, Karma turned to the drawer and removed a Rocket uniform. "Turn around," she said simply.

"Huh...riiight," Chris said with a smile.

"Turn around unless you want to be blind," she said, without the hint of a joke.

Chris complied. Unsure whether she was kidding or not and not willing to take the risk.

**V**

They got to the 'Confiscation Room.' It had been pretty simple. Dressed in Rocket garb, no one had even given them a second look. They had found that the "Clearance S card" did indeed give them access to more than a great deal of rooms, but a few they could not open. Key Card locks marked A seemed closed, even to janitors. Yet that had not made a great difference. The base really was designed like a maze. Even if one way was blocked off, it simply required the use of detours to get back on the right track. This bothered Chris as it really only meant many of the passages were only for convenience.

It bothered Karma more, because it became even more obvious that in Team Rocket, a promotion to a Grunt would grant them nothing more than just that: convenience. That and a small pay raise and more hours probably. What a horrid organization.

Another smaller explosion rocked the building clearing their minds of their thoughts. _What was up with those explosions? _Chriswondered. Several moments after, a small earthquake seemed to shake the base.

Karma slipped the "Clearance S" card into the "Confiscation Room" card slot and it beeped. The door opened and Karma swung it wide. Not for the first time that day, and not for the last, Chris gaped. The room was piled with shelves of pokeballs. Boxes of backpacks and purses. Stacks of papers and documents. On a table directly across the room, lay Chris' and Karma's backpacks. Accompanying them were their pokeballs. It looked like they had not yet been organized with the rest of the stolen good, which was good luck for them.

Chris slung his backpack onto his back and grabbed his two pokeballs. He was about to release his pokemon when Karma smacked him. "Don't make a commotion!" she hissed. She pointed and he saw a camera above their heads. "They're looking for us! They know we escaped!

Don't you think they know we'd come here looking for our pokemon?"

"But..." stammered Chris.

"Yeah! They probably already know we're here. So go! Grunts are probably converging here now!" Karma slipped on her pack, grabbed her pokeballs and strode to the door.

"Hey! But what about these pokeballs?" asked Chris motioning to the spheres around the room. Hundreds of probably stolen pokemon, offered as prizes above at the Game Corner. It sickened Chris.

Karma didn't turn around. "There's nothing we can do about that. Let's go." She strode out of the room. Chris hesitated and followed her.

Chris and Karma jogged down the corridor, intending to get to the elevator when they were simply over run.

Doors to their left and right suddenly opened and Grunts literally flooded the passage. An explosion seemed to rock the base. Chris and Karma froze. They thought they had been captured, they reached for their pokemon, but before they could summon anything the Grunts had passed them.

Chris and Karma looked surprise. Giving each other mystifying looks they followed the stampede of Grunts. The Grunts led them to the elevators where they were slamming into available shafts by the tens. Another explosion rocked the base.

Eventually only Chris, Karma, and an elderly Grunt were left. The Grunt looked like he was half sick and half terrified. Chris took the chance and asked the Grunt. "What's going on?"

The Grunt turned around and stared at Chris in amazement. "Are ya' both mad? Don't you feel those explosion? It's a breech! The Red-4 alarm is sounding!"

An elevator finally opened up behind them and the Grunt practically flew into it.

Chris rushed to ask him, "Breech? I thought the alarm was sounding because of a prisoner escape?"

As the elevator doors closed the Grunt looked at him strangely. "A prisoner escape?" His little beady eyes popped back and forth and then he blinked, as if realizing something. "Oh! Yeah! Something escaped out of quarantine! An experimental pokemon! This is _RED-4_! This is practically war! The boss has already sent out Mewt—," the doors closed before the Grunt could finish his sentence.

Chris and Karma looked at each other in surprise. "What could have happened?" asked Chris.

Karma looked just as lost as him.


	11. Change Again and Again

**Chapter 11  
Change Again and Again**

**20 minutes earlier**  
**Celadon Rocket Base, B16**  
**Dangerous Specimen Quarantine**

Giovanni marched into the room followed by two executives. High ranked members. High rollers. Their expressions were carefully arranged in neutrality; if Giovanni fumed, they would anger, and if he became pleased, they would smile. They were unimportant extensions of the boss's will.

The seated scientist in the room sprung to his feet and stood at attention. Already sweating from excitement.

The boss peered into the small glass. He saw the small puppy tied up, being held in the air, and looked back at the scientist. "Well?"

The scientist was shaking now; he wanted to do this carefully. "I realize, sir, that you only wanted some simple readings and recordings before you… eh… had the Growlithe 'interrogated' personally for information but…"

"Spill it," Giovanni practically spat.

"Well, upon _my_ first readings, _I_ was surprised to discover the Growlithe had an abnormal amount of a peculiar, unidentified energy stored. _I_ ran an experiment to get a better grasp of this energy, which is what you can see going on right through there, _I_ was utterly shocked at the readings. It seemed the more energy we sapped from the small pokemon, the more it produced!" The scientist motioned next to him at several monitors that held what looked like complicated graphs and readings. "Not only that, but this energy is actually very similar to the kind of energy a pokemon releases upon evolution! In fact, _I_ am sure it is the same! With a few more tests, _I_ am positive this will be conformed."

Giovanni was not lost on the fact that every time the scientist mentioned himself, he spoke the word with special emphasis. It was annoying. He quickly looked him over and understood. He was young, ambitious, and utterly foolish. He was obviously hoping to somehow subconsciously connect the project and himself together in Giovanni's mind. How stupid. Did he actually think something so simple and idiotic would work?

"This is groundbreaking!" proclaimed the scientist. "Normally, _we_ only have access to this type of energy in miniscule amounts and only after a pokemon evolves, but my tests see no end in sight to the amount of evolution-energy this Growlithe produces! By harnessing the energy this Growlithe emits, _we_ shall tap into this mysterious force and walk, _together, _into a bright future!"

Now, Giovanni noted, the scientist was giving his, probably rehearsed, speech. About the wonders that they could unlock if they proceeded. Giovanni also noted that he had now started to emphasis "we," probably hoping to bridge a connection between him and Giovanni. Plant an image of them working together side by side.

How freaking annoying. Giovanni didn't work. He paid others to do the work for him. Then he took the results and claimed them his own.

Nonetheless, Giovanni could see that there was some sincere promise to what the scientist was proposing. If this was true, if a mere Growlithe was producing evolution-energy, then it was indeed something to consider.

"If it is producing evolution energy, how come the Growlithe itself is not evolving?" asked an executive behind Giovanni. A redheaded female, a fool, thought the young scientist viciously for having interrupted their conversation and disrupting the boss's thoughts.

"My dear," drawled the scientist. "I do not know why, but I would assume it is because there is no Fire Stone present. As it is widely known, A Growlithe only evolves into an Arcanine when brought into contact with a Fire Stone."

The executive said nothing else. _There. That shut her up_, thought the scientist gleefully.

"So this small pre evolved pokemon contains and produces an unlimited amount of evolution energy?" asked Giovanni calmly. The scientist nodded. "So I wonder what would occur if we forced it to evolve?"

The scientist began to sputter. He was against such an act. It could compromise the unlimited source of energy currently being produced, he raised his voice to stop the conversation from heading in such a direction, but Giovanni cut him off with an icy stare.

"Do it."

The scientist had no choice; you don't say no to the boss. He sat down on his chair and spun around to the control panel. He typed a few commands on his keyboard, closed his eyes and sighed. He pressed enter.

Inside the small room, a panel on the wall opened. A mechanical claw holding a small red stone, a Fire Stone, appeared from within it. The hand's arm stretched until the stone was an inch from the puppy's unconscious body. Then it quickly sprung forward and the two made contact.

For a moment it looked like any other evolution. Growlithe glowed bright white, it emitted a strange light and, suddenly, everything was anything but normal. Fire filled the room. Or rather, exploded outward from the small puppy's body. The whole room was bathed in a bright red flame, but the scientist wasn't scared. The rooms that contained dangerous specimens were constructed to be extremely durable. It would simply burn itself out; it was impossible for a pokemon to generate enough heat to destroy such a reinforced—

The glass window exploded outwards, sending everyone in the room sprawling backwards. Flames unbearably hot erupted from the small window and suddenly the wall crashed down. Flames literally blew out, spreading themselves and the humans ran toward the door. In a single leap, a large quadruped orange dog appeared, it leapt forward into the now open room.

It roared, causing all the humans to freeze in fright, then in a jump that caused even more flames to appear, it sprinted at the closed door, slammed it with force enough that the walls shook and cracked, and it was gone. It left only fire in its wake, and worse yet, it was escaping.

**II**

In case you were unaware, Team Rocket has four color-coded types of alarms. Each progressing color leading to an even direr situation. Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red. In addition, each color contained separate levels that would give more information to the type of situation at hand. Green contained 1 level, Yellow 2, Orange 3, and Red 4.

Simply put, Green-1 was the normal state that Team Rocket bases found themselves in when there was no danger. Red-4 meant that the base in question was in actual danger of total destruction. Complete annihilation. It was such a severe state, that rocket members from nearing bases were to instantly be deployed to the base in danger. It was a state of war.

Rocket supervisors and executives were allowed to call alarm types of Yellow-1 through Red-2, however only Giovanni himself held the authority to declare a Red-4 state of alarm.

Chris and Karma had no way of knowing this. The idea of a 'Red-4' simply confused them, but they got the gist. Danger. Imminent death. War.

They waited in silence until the next elevator came and they got into it. It was empty, lone. Chris reached for the B17 button, but Karma grabbed his arm. "No. Let's get to the surface," she said calmly.

"What? But this is perfect! Team Rocket is distracted! Let's nab Growlithe and split while they're in disarray!" insisted Chris.

"No," said Karma. In the bright elevator light, Chris could see that her purple attire was dirty and frayed in a few places, but he doubted he looked any better. "I don't think we're going to have access to B17, or anywhere near those floors in fact. The map said those were the "Executive Quarters," I doubt janitors are privy to whatever happens down there." Karma pointed to a key card reader, it looked like the elevators required key cards for some levels as well.

"If we head up to the surface, we have a better chance of meeting a high ranked rocket member and jumping them to take their card," Karma explained simply. Chris admitted, she probably had a point. "Also… I don't think my brother is down here anymore."

Chris looked at her. "Wha? What do you mean?"

Karma looked at him, but simply said, "I don't _feel_ him down there anymore."

**III**

Above them, in Celadon city, Mewtwo soared through the air, its thick tail billowing out behind it. It peered alertly down at the suburbs, already Grunts were stationing themselves here. During this time of war, Team Rocket would siege the city. At least temporarily anyways. The police and citizens would be quarantined off. Yes, Team Rocket had friends in high places, but the sheer amount of members were overpowering to any city alone.

Mewtwo redoubled back. Its target was not in the suburbs. It flew back to the busy industrial part of town, where the flames were, and stopped. It closed its eyes and tried to _sense_ the escapee. It was a psychic type, but clairvoyance had never been its forte.

Suddenly it happened, the image of fire appeared before it and Mewtwo opened its eyes. Ahead, near the skyscrapers, there was a billowing red explosion. Mewtwo sped off in that direction.

Below it, the Rocket Game Corner was in flames. Its roof smashed open, as if something large had jumped out. Rather, something large _had_ jumped out.

Civilians had already noticed that something was amiss. Rocket members had suddenly swarmed the city, fires seemed to be spreading, and something semi-human was flying around town. Least to say it was causing an uproar, or at least among the few the Rocket Grunts hadn't gotten to yet.

An explosion rocked one of the skyscrapers in the center of Celadon; Mewtwo recognized it as the "Game Freak Building," a place full of weird people. Mewtwo teleported directly above the building and saw it. Rocket grunts were screaming and cursing at the building's base, some burned, their pokemon wiped out before them. He spotted his target as it sprung an incredible height and crashed right into the Game Freak Building's 9th floor. It was attempting to hide.

Mewtwo descended, and came face to face with the broken window the pokemon had created as it leapt into the building. Black smoke was already funneling out. _This pokemon is a pyromaniac_, Mewtwo thought.

From inside, in what looked like a ruined office, stood the blazing Arcanine, surrounded in bright red flames. In a corner of the room, a small man was quivering in fear. The large quadrupedal beast looked up at Mewtwo roared at it, with surprising power. Its simple roar had enough force, that it literally buffeted Mewtwo with a blast of sonic air.

Mewtwo sent out its own wave of psychic energy right back, causing Arcanine to be pushed back a little. They stared at each other, and in each other's eyes, each saw that the opponent wanted to battle just as much as the other. No fear, no hatred, just power in those eyes.


	12. Fiery Exterior, Empty Interior

**Chapter 12  
Fiery Exterior, Empty Interior**

Mewtwo zoomed forward at Arcanine, right into the flaming building, and the flaming beast responded by jumping forward itself. Its large paws bearing long sharp claws, its face pulled back in a snarl that barred its maw, and the dagger like teeth inside.

At the last second before impact, Mewtwo threw up a barrier. A bright blue bubble all around its body. The consequence was that instead of hitting the 270 pound frame of Mewtwo, Arcanine hit a psychic shield that stopped his attack instantly and repelled him, throwing him back with so much strength that the large canine crashed through walls and flew right through the building, crashing out the opposite side toward the street below.

Part of the ceiling collapsed, Mewtwo looked toward the small man who was now crying in the corner and realized that he would be crushed. With a flick of his hand, the ceiling was lifted up. _Go!_, Mewtwo screamed mentally.

The man only closed his eyes and entered a sort of fetal position, tears streaming down his face. Mewtwo felt absolutely sickened.

He waved his other hand, attempting to psionically lift the man when Mewtwo burst into flames. Only for an instant however, by instinct, Mewtwo teleported away to the sky next to the building, leaving the fire that would have burned Mewtwo behind.

A sickening scream suddenly rang out and Mewtwo realized that, by teleporting away, he had left the ceiling unsupported, and it must have fallen on the small man. That, inexplicably, left a feeling of regret and anger in the powerful psychic pokemon.

Mewtwo looked at the building just in time to see the windows at the eye level turn shiny and orange before they burst outwards. The explosion inside the building had sent fire throughout the building. Glass buffeted Mewtwo along with a surprising roaring sound and another shock wave of sound.

The entire floor of the building was on fire, screams of those trapped inside could be heard, in an instant, Mewtwo's mind was filled with panicked thoughts: _help me oh my god she's on fire no stop I can't see help I'm trapped help he fell down the stairs he fell fire explosion oh no help they were in the explosion it's a dog a damned dog water need water help the stairs are blocked the wall came down help she's on fire I'm in the bathroom help I can't see he blew up oh no her face melted—_

Mewtwo closed his eyes and blocked out the mental screams for help. Feelings of terror and anguish rose up inside Mewtwo and he had to stop for a second. Empathy was a skill Mewtwo did not relish. After a few seconds, when his thoughts were only his own again, Mewtwo opened his eyes, and stared at the open jaw of a flaming Arcanine only a few bare inches from its face.

Mewtwo threw up another barrier but this didn't help, the Arcanine had pounced on Mewtwo before the barrier was up and as such, when Mewtwo pulled up the spherical bubble, Arcanine was shielded as well. The two were trapped midair, in close quarters, inside the blue bubble, which meant Mewtwo had no where to escape to when Arcanine opened its maw and the temperature inside the bubble pushed past 1500 degrees Celsius.

Mewtwo was instantly bathed in an explosion of searing fire. At the same time, the slender feline was quite literally barraged by a furious succession of slashes, kicks, bites, and head butts.

Mewtwo screamed out mentally in anguish and that loss of concentration shattered the blue bubble like glass, the glowing blue shard dropping in the wind. No longer being supported by the barrier, Arcanine plummeted towards the streets below. In its jaws was Mewtwo's head. Arcanine was both continually bathing it in fire and shaking it around violently.

Arcanine dropped with a blazing crash into the middle of the street and threw Mewtwo like a rag doll across the street and its body crashed into a dull blue station wagon which gave a strange crunch and started to emit gray smoke.

Arcanine roaring, this time louder than before and the sonic blast of air and sound emitted shattered the glass of the nearby buildings and cars. It resonated around the city, and suddenly silence fell. The only noise which could be heard was the Game Freak building which had suffered a small implosion and cars which had had their alarms tripped by the concussive force the sound.

Mewtwo rose from the wreckage of the car. Its entire upper body covered by a thick black layer of ash. Red gashes ran down Mewtwo's neck and torso and saliva ran down its head.

_Flame thrower and Close Combat right? I'm impressed. I wasn't aware that Arcanine could even learn that little trick, _Mewtwo said telepathically. It gave a small cough and from above them came another explosion. _You're causing quite a few deaths you know? You don't even seem to care... you're more heartless than I am, my friend._

Arcanine charged forward suddenly with surprising speed and within seconds was nearly upon Mewtwo, but it managed to teleport at the last second to the air above Arcanine. _Answer me, dog!_

Arcanine looked up and Mewtwo suddenly saw it in its eyes. Arcanine could hear Mewtwo, it simply couldn't understand Mewtwo. It wasn't rage or anger. It was power. The overpowering energy had possessed the fiery mutt and wiped away its consciousness. Somehow, Arcanine's sudden evolution had whipped away Arcanine's personality and its mind, and had left only this beast. This empty, empty entity that now only existed to use the energy it now had at its disposal. It now existed to destroy.

_Alright then_, Mewtwo thought. It suddenly descended to the street, level with Arcanine. _Let's put an end to this show_.

**II**

Karma and Chris pushed themselves into the next available elevator. Karma jammed the B1 button as she slid the card key through its slot and they slowly rose through the shaft. Surprisingly, no other people entered the elevator and it didn't stop until it reached their destination.

They basically toppled out of it, but they were now lost. They hadn't studied this floor so they didn't know where the exit was. A single Grunt appeared from around a corner. Drool ran down his face and he sped past Chris and Karma, down a passage. They took a full five seconds before they started to follow the fellow. He led them down two more passages before they reached a staircase that led to an opening in the ceiling. Even from there, bright orange lights and smoke billowed in from the opening, a fire was burning. The small doorway was already parted open and the Grunt jumped on the staircase and cleared it.

Chris and Karma looked at each other and sighed. They also cleared the staircase.

They entered what may very well be some puritan's image of hell. A large casino like area with a partially fallen roof. Pool tables, slot machines, poker tables, and a few other gaming tables were flipped on their sides or on fire. Thick black smoke and ash blotted the air. The windows had been blown out, and on the floor were littered poster cut-outs of females dressed skimpily, advertising drinks or games.

Chris used his shirt as a filter for the smoke and pointed at the doorway, which had been blocked out by the partially fallen ceiling and fire. Karma yanked his arm and pointed at the floor near the western wall, where what looked like bodies could be seen, under the flames and pined under overturned tables.

Fiery embers were beginning to fall upon Chris and as he shielded himself, a bright red flash blinded him, but when he opened his eyes he saw a giant round boulder before him: Golem.

"Piedra!" Karma called, stifling a cough, she pointed at the nearby eastern wall. "Rollout!"

The large pokemon jumped into the air and rolled itself into a round sphere and sprang forward. It tackled the eastern wall and plowed right through it, causing embers, fire, and wood to fall all around Chris and Karma as the ceiling completely collapsed. Sprinting, the duo made it out as the building erupted into a last show of flames, as far as Chris could see, any Team Rocket members left below ground may now be permanently trapped and helpless.

Chris stopped and started to cough hack up when they reached the relative safety of the street.

"Good job, Piedra!" praised Karma. Then, an explosion from a nearby skyscraper rocked them on their feet. Karma looked up and her eyes narrowed. "Brother!"

"Wait! Karma!" cried Chris as he tried to catch his breath in between coughing but it was too late, she sprinted down the street toward the Game Freak building, followed by Golem, which was in its Rollout form to keep up. Chris took a deep breathe and sighed. "Jeez... that girl, not even a moments rest."

With a smile, he followed.


	13. You Are My Trash Forever

**Chapter 13  
You Are My Trash Forever**

Arcanine lunged wildly into the air, right at Mewtwo, but the bipedal cat lifted its right hand and Arcanine froze in midair. _Psychic!_ Comically, its four legs spun crazily as it levitated 16 feet of the floor.

_Close Combat is a hard hitting physical attack of the Fighting Type_, Mewtwo mentally lectured. South from them, a small crowd had gathered. Attracted by the burning building and Mewtwo's presence. But the psychic pokemon continued, paying them no heed. _However its major drawback is that it makes the user far more susceptible to physical and special attacks by lowering their defensive capabilities_.

Blood trickled down Mewtwo's wounds. The armor it wore did shield it, but it had still suffered drastically. With a scowl it looked down and swept its left hand over its wounds and a blue light appeared. _Recover_, thought Mewtwo and the wounds closed up instantly as they were bathed in the blue light. _Recover's a fairly useful and useless move. It closes your wounds but there is no way to restore the lost energy. _

Arcanine roared and the sudden shock wave of sound hit Mewtwo and he flew back a bit, but not much. The psychic hold over Arcanine weakened slightly but did not break.

_Sorry, but you shattered my barrier, and it takes a few minutes for it to re-gather itself after being broken. I don't want to take the chance of you moving around while I'm almost defenseless so_... Mewtwo shrugged. _You've really improved from that small mutt I flattened just yesterday, you know?_

Arcanine opened its maw, but Mewtwo slammed it closed with psychic force. _No, no, no, my dear friend, no more of that_. A small explosion came from the Game Freak Building followed by a larger one. Falling embers showered the scene and the few Grunts that were watching cheered at Mewtwo. A small wind blew between the skyscrapers and for the first time, the morning sun emerged from behind a building and illuminated their battle ground.

_Yes, you've come far from that scrawny little thing_, Mewtwo mused. In one swift motion it lowered Arcanine to the street, but did not release it from the psychic hold. _However, you are only speck of dirt when compared to _me_. A pathetic existence that deserves to be annihilated instantly because you dared to try and raise yourself to my level. You dare to injure me? To make me fear you? You failed._

Mewtwo raised one long kangaroo like leg and brought it down. _Earthquake_. A long fissure appeared, it cracked the very street and ran away from Mewtwo's leg and ran towards the frozen Arcanine, and when it reached him, Arcanine disappeared from view. Earth and rocks literally exploded out of the ground under Arcanine. With a horrible crunch, the Earth became unleveled and Arcanine was smothered by sudden jutting rocks. Dust billowed out from the sudden cracks and crater that had appeared under Arcanine, the scene shortly resembled a dust storm.

Mewtwo released Arcanine from its hold. It rose its two arms into the air and parted them. Instantly, the thick dust parted to the right and left like the waters of a brown sea. Mewtwo levitated itself forward until it was directly above the crater Arcanine now lay in. Down below lay the downed figure of Arcanine. He was in a pool of deep red, his coat covered in dust. He was alive, making small jerking motions, but he wasn't getting up. This battle was over.

Mewtwo looked at this figure for a few seconds and then thought, _pathetic_. It raised its right arm and a bright orange light appeared at the end of its hand. _Goodbye dog, Hyper Beam._

Mewtwo was tossed aside. A huge boulder suddenly appeared and it slammed itself into Mewtwo's grime covered body. The 660 pound Golem sent the injured Mewtwo soaring into the lobby of the Celadon City Department Store. Glass flew everywhere and civilians who had been locked inside screamed at the shocking entrance of a strange pokemon.

Karma appeared, she jumped into the small crater and came over Arcanine. She lifted his large head and examined his body, which to her horror was covered in gashes and contusions. "Chris! He's hurt! We need to get him help now!"

Chris' face appeared above her, he was on all fours looking down into the crater. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at Arcanine. "Woah. That things messed up. You sure that's him?"

Karma looked up and for the first time since meeting her, he saw fear in her eyes. She wasn't crying, she wasn't screaming, she was just frantic. "It's Greg! It's him! They must have made him evolve, we need to get him out of here!"

Chris was about to start climbing down when he heard the cries. Rocket Grunts, a veritable mob of them were running down the street, pokeballs in hand to help Mewtwo. Chris got up and reached for a pokeball. He frowned—things looked worse than bad. Then the Grunts were bathed in a blue light, and up they went, into the air, all of them were flung aside. Their bodies flew into the air and crashed into a nearby building. They were thrown with such force that as they made impact, a sickening crunch could be heard, which meant many bones had been broken. The group collapsed into a small whimpering semi-conscious pile on the floor.

Chris' mouth dropped open. He couldn't see what had happened, but suddenly an explosion from the Department Store Lobby cleared everything up.

_Don't interfere!_ Cried Mewtwo with a psychic scream. With shocking speed, he flew towards Chris and landed before him. _These, these are _mine_!_

With a sweeping motion, Mewtwo rose its arms and brought them down, suddenly everything around Chris looked blurry. Then everything became clear again and he was no longer within a city. They were in a forest clearing, Mewtwo had teleported them away.

Chris stumbled backwards and looked behind, Karma was there, along with Arcanine and Piedra. She didn't look as disoriented as he did, she was looking at Mewtwo with a frown. "You look pretty roughed up. What was your name? Mewtwo, was it?"

Mewtwo looked at her and a voice spoke out mentally, _you three. You three and your pokemon, you are mine. You belong to me. No one else has the right to kill you but me_. Mewtwo lifted an arm. _Come!_

Karma was right. Mewtwo was a freaking mess. He was covered in black grime and brown dust. The mechanical armor it wore, that had looked so sleek and awesome before, was now cracked and a lot of it was missing. In a few exposed places were what looked like newly healed wounds. "Looks like Arcanine whipped some serious numbers on you." He said it with a smile.

Chris gripped his two pokeballs and threw them in the air. In a red flash of light, Mismagius and Bayleaf appeared. Chris was relieved to see that Bayleaf didn't look hurt, he was worried since he didn't know if Team Rocket healed the pokemon they stole but it looked like even that devious organization had some sort of system set up for stolen pokemon. A procedure that involved healing them.

Karma appeared beside him. Two pokeballs clutched in her hands, tossing the spheres, an Absol and Ryhorn appeared. Pierna the Golem strode by her and faced Mewtwo along with the rest of the pokemon. Mewtwo stared down at them haughtily.

"Razor leaf!" cried Chris. Sharp spinning leaves erupted from Bayleaf, at the same instant Karma cried Noche's name, and the Absol zoomed forward. Mewtwo threw up a barrier that blocked Bayleaf's leaves but didn't stop Absol. It sprang into the barrier and slipped right through, sinking its serrated fangs into Mewtwo's flesh and the barrier shattered, sending the psychic pokemon reeling to the floor. Noche climbed Mewtwo's fallen figure, stradling it and pinning it to the floor. Mewtwo gripped its head suddenly, as if it had a searing headache.

Karma smiled. "Bite is a dark type attack, no psychic type barrier can block it. It also causes flinching, which stops your attacks."

Chris got the hint, "Dark moves that cause him to flinch? Mismagius! Dark Pulse!" The small purple pokemon flew forward and shrieked. Dark colored waves of energy flew out from Mismagius and struck Mewtwo, literally propelling it a few inches above ground. Yet the trick seemed to work, with both Absol and Mismagius causing it to flinch, it seemed incapable of attacking.

Bayleaf suddenly stood rigidly still. Its petals pointed toward the sky, Chris understood immediately. Bayleaf was storing sunlight so it could finish the battle with one power house move. All Chris needed to do was buy time.

Mewtwo socked Absol. Mega Punch, with enough force to send the white pokemon soaring through the forest clearing. A shadow appeared over Mewtwo and it looked up. Golem was coming down. Somehow Piedra had rolled up and picked up enough speed to soar 15 feet into the air, making it look quite fearsome as it plummeted down. Mewtwo lifted its hand to launch a psychic attack but it couldn't. Mismagius' Dark Pulse was keeping it flinched, unable to use its psychic ability.

Golem crushed Mewtwo, then rolled on it, causing a small crater-like indentation on the ground.

Golem being on top of Mewtwo forced Mismagius to end Dark Pulse, for fear of hitting Golem, and that's when Mewtwo struck. The psychic cat summoned a wave of circular blue energy that lifted the Piedra and tossed him like a toy. Mewtwo next sent out the blue energy wildly toward Mismagius in the form of blue lightning. It struck the purple ghost and capsized her, sending her plummeting, unconscious.

If Mewtwo looked like a mess before, he was a wreck now. The metal armor it wore had all but been destroyed. Now all that remained were small broken segments on the floor, surrounding the charred-blue feline.

Ryhorn moved forward for the first time. It charged at Mewtwo, who stopped it quickly, lifted it into the air, and tossed it into a tree on the other side of the clearing. Chris glanced at Bayleaf and saw the she was done storing sunlight.

"Karma! Just hold him!" he cried to her.

"Wha? How!" she snapped back.

"Think of something! You're smart enough! Hold him and we'll handle the rest!" he cried.

Karma looked at him for a second and then sighed. "Fine, but this better work... Piedra!" Golem came around, and she pointed at Mewtwo. "Just charge him."

Piedra looked at her as if mad, it knew Mewtwo would simply use psychic to stop it and throw it if it simply tried to charge. Yet, Piedra did trust its trainer, so it rolled up and attacked. Just as predicted Mewtwo raised its arm and used psychic to stop the rolling Golem in its track.

"Noche! Mimic!" Karma screamed suddenly. Absol suddenly stood still and opened its eyes wide, a surge of energy moved between it and Mewtwo and suddenly, Mewtwo was surrounded in a wave of black energy. Mewtwo looked up in surprise, Absol had mimicked psychic, and was holding him in place.

"Bayleaf, Go! Solar Beam!" cried Chris. Bayleaf moved forward and swung the single large leaf on its head forward. A blinding yellow light appeared at the end of the leaf and suddenly a yellow beam of energy shot out.

Mewtwo was defenseless. Its barrier had still not recovered. It took the blunt of the attack, which caused a miniature explosion. Smoke whipped up and the forest grew silent at the scene after the attack unfolded.

Mewtwo was standing. The last of its armor had fallen, its skin was completely stained in black, brown, and the red of its own burns. It staggered a little and looked around the desolate battle area, at the fallen pokemon, and then at Chris and Karma. Finally its eyes narrowed as they came rest on the unconscious Arcanine. Then it collapsed.

_You bastards_, it whispered psychically as it closed its eyes.


	14. Calm After the Storm

**Chapter 14  
Calm After the Storm**

Chris tentatively approached the downed pokemon. Step by step, he inched his way to the spot in the middle of the clearing which had been singed clear of grass. The great psychic pokemon was lying face down, its tail slumped with no movement, one arm outstretched towards Arcanine, in a fist.

Behind him, Bayleaf, Cuerno, and Noche slowly approached. Karma was knelt next to Arcanine. Chris stood over Mewtwo and reached down, unsure of what exactly he was going to do—

_Don't touch me you bastard!_

Chris jumped back as the voice clearly spoke at the center of his mind.

_I got careless, I underestimated that mutt. I played too much with my food. This... is simply the result of that. Don't get complacent._

Chris sighed and looked down. Even though the mental voice was speaking with a steely monotonous tone, Mewtwo's body had not moved. Its breathing was barely noticeable but it was indeed taking small shallow breaths. "Who are you?" he asked the downed pokemon.

_I am Mewtwo_, the mental voice answered immediately. _I am the strongest. _

Chris looked back at Karma. Piedra was next to her now. Chris looked up and saw that Mismagius was still knocked out at the edge of the clearing. He looked down and sighed. He walked over to her, took out his pokeball and recalled her. "Thanks girl, take a rest now."

Karma had taken out several bottles from her pack. Medicine and bandages: Revives and Potions. Already she was bandaging Arcanine's front left paw which stuck out in a weird direction. It looked fractured, maybe even broken.

"Why did you do this?" Chris muttered, he didn't expect Mewtwo to hear him, but to his surprise, the pokemon answered.

_Because you dared to oppose me. Dared to fight me_, answered Mewtwo's mental voice. _I am the strongest and you are my trash. I can dispose of you whenever I so cho-_

"Liar!" Karma practically spat. She was spraying some medicine on Arcanine's gashes, but she turned to them then, face contorted with fury. "Your master _ordered_ you to do this. That bastard Giovanni."

_He is not my master, he is my partner._ Mewtwo said, this time louder than before. _I don't serve him, I chose to do this._

"Your partner?" asked Chris. "You mean like a trainer? Giovanni's your trainer?"

_Don't misunderstand, our partnership is unlike the one you share with your pokemon. Your partnerships are true slavery. Mine is equality. _

"What are you talking about? Our pokemon are our partners, not our slaves!" said Chris, he was getting annoyed. Bayleaf gave a cry of assurance before him. "If anyone's a slave, it's you! Team Rocket's oblivious pawn! They're using you!"

_Giovanni is _not_ using me, he is helping me! He helped me learn how to control my abilities. He is helping me to discover my purpose—_

"Your... purpose?" Chris asked.

_My purpose for existence_, Mewtwo explained. _The way I entered this world is... unique. I am trying to find my reason for existing, my purpose._

"Are you stupid?" asked Karma loudly. Mewtwo didn't respond and she continued. "Team Rocket's goal is to use pokemon to further their own sick ambitions. Their motto says that 'All pokemon exist for the glory of Team Rocket'. Do you honestly believe such a malevolent organization thinks of you as a 'partner'?"

_Giovanni was the first human to extend the hand of partnership to me. The hand of equality_, Mewtwo said. _The ones who made me would study me, would have kept me in a test tube. They would have my purpose be for their own ends._

"What?" said Chris. "Created you... what do you mean?"

_I don't yet understand what I exist for... but what I do understand is that I am the strongest. My creators wanted to create the ultimate pokemon. And they succeeded._

__Mewtwo rose. It slowly got to its feet, but Chris could have sworn that it almost stumbled.

Noche, Piedra, Cuerno, and Bayleaf came forward. Karma looked up, but she didn't look surprised. Chris felt shaken. Mewtwo made a long motion with one hand and a blue wave of light washed out away from it and hit the pokemon. They were all thrown back, but not violently. Mewtwo rose into the air, roughly five feet, but Chris thought it was a weak levitation. Mewtwo wasn't perfectly balanced in the air, its tail was sort of droopy and it kept rising and falling slightly.

_Enough,_ Mewtwo sent out mentally. _I am retreating for now. Don't misinterpret this. I am not surrendering, I will never surrender to any of you. I will return and I will destroy you. That is not a promise, that is reality._

Mewtwo closed its eyes but Karma spoke out from next to Arcanine, "Wait! At least tell us where you brought us!" When it didn't seem like the psychic pokemon would respond, she added: "We should get a reward right? For forcing the so-called 'strongest' pokemon to retreat. Give us that, at least."

The psychic type pokemon opened its eyes and looked at her somehow managing to look extremely haughty, _very well, girl._ _This is Route 8. It's the closet place I thought to bring you where we'd have the least chance of encountering Rocket members who might interrupt us. _

"What do you mean, why would you care if Rocket members... helped you?" Chris asked.

_I fight alone, I don't accept the aide of humans in battles, I fight how I want to fight. Not with some moron trainer behind me, barking ridiculous orders,_ Mewtwo answered. Then it continued. _The Rocket Base in Celadon gave a Red-4 Alarm. Among the other things that such an alarm signifies, it also orders Rocket members from nearby bases to converge on the base under alarm in order to give aide,_ Mewtwo paused and pointed to the west. _Rocket members would be flocking from Saffron and Cerulean. Maybe even Fuchsia. All cities with Rocket Bases. Lavender Town has no such base, Rocket members wouldn't be coming through here._

"You're just leaving us here?" Chris asked, it was obvious he was suspicious.

_It doesn't matter. Go wherever you want. I'll find you eventually, _the feline turned its gaze toward Arcanine again._ Yes, I'll find you and I'll kill you all. For now, that is my purpose._

With that, Mewtwo disappeared.


	15. Dread Disambiguation

**Chapter 15  
Dread Disambiguation**

**Lavender Town-Kanto/Seeking Aide  
Midday/Sunday**

Nurse Joy stared in astonishment at the three visitors who had just walked into her Pokemon Center. Two teenagers, a boy and girl, dressed in black garb with a capital red "R" on their chests that signified Team Rocket. Their clothes however were strangely dirty, covered in what looked like ash and dust. With them came a large Arcanine. The large dog was a horrible mess. Its coat had a dried coat of blood and its legs and body we're covered in bandages. It came in walking under its own power but it limped horribly. The two kids followed next to it, hands outstretched, trying to help support it.

When she had first seen them through the front lobby's glass doors, she had instinctively reached for the phone. Even in a small town like Lavender, the danger that Team Rocket posed was known. Behind the counter her finger reached towards the emergency speed dial button that would place a call for help to the police station, but she stopped. It looked like they were supporting something, and then they had come in. Shock had overrode caution and she practically sprinted across the lobby. The Pokemon Center was empty today, that was sort of rare. Lavender Town had no Gym, nor was it really necessary to pass through it to get to a town with a Gym. In fact, getting into Lavender from the north meant passing through the Rock Tunnel, which was difficult, and getting in from the west was completely arbitrary as Vermilion was directly south of Saffron. Lavender was a memorial town, a place where pokemon were laid to rest. Yet the saddening thing was that although there were hundreds of pokemon that had been laid to rest inside the Memorial Tower, the town was only visited by a few people every day. It seemed that Lavender was not only the final resting place of pokemon but of memories as well.

"What happened to this pokemon?" asked Nurse Joy. Now that she was close enough to actually see the Arcanine, she could see that its condition was far worse than she had initially perceived. Its body was covered in gashes, lacerations, and contusions. There had been some attempt to give it treatment, she could tell by the scent that drifted from its coat and the color some of the wounds had taken, but potions and revives could only do so much. This pokemon most certainly had several broken bones. She looked up at the boy for his response but the girl answered.

"We were attacked by Team Rocket," she said calmly. Nurse Joy looked at her in surprise, and looked them over again. "Please don't judge us on our attire, it was the only way we could escape. It's a long story."

"Please, Arcanine needs help right away, and so do our pokemon," Chris said. As in if agreement, Arcanine whimpered. Chris removed two pokeballs from his pocket, and Karma drew out three.

Nurse Joy sniffed for a second, unsure of what to do but then she sighed. She reached out and took the pokeballs and ran across the room placing them on a tray on the counter. "Please withdraw Arcanine into a pokeball so that we may treat it."

Chris and Karma looked at each other for a second before he answered, "Arcanine doesn't actually have a pokeball."

Nurse Joy raised an eyebrow, "it doesn't have a trainer?"

"No," Karma answered.

"For emergency treatment, a pokemon need to be inside a pokeball," Nurse Joy lectured from across the room. "One of you, please capture it for now, if you want you may release it after treatment."

Chris sighed and withdrew a small sphere, Arcaine was looking at the pokeball with dislike. But Karma beat him to the punch, she didn't toss her pokeball, but tapped its central ring against Arcanine. With a flash of red light, Arcanine disappeared as Karma whispered, "don't worry."

Karma walked the pokeball over to Nurse Joy and placed it on the tray. With a brisk pace, Nurse Joy moved the tray to a machine next to the counter and placed the tray on a compartment on top of the machine. It resembled a large computer combined with some kind of transformer. Chris had seen these terminals at pokemon centers all over the world, it was how Nurse Joys handled speedy treatments, but this was the first time he was curious about how it actually worked.

Nurse Joy stood in front of a monitor and typed away. Red light, very similar to the red light seen when a pokemon is called to or from a pokeball, suddenly flooded the tray compartment and surrounded the six pokeballs. Chris leaned over the counter to get a better look at what Nurse Joy and was surprised to see a 3D image of an Absol appear on her monitor. It was accompanied by varying bars and words, near the top, Chris could make out Karma's name, "OT Karma Metrawire."

"Don't you even know how that works?" asked Karma behind him. Chris looked back and found that she was looking at him in a exasperated way. He shook his head and she sighed and pointed at the pokeballs in the tray. "Pokeballs convert pokemon to energy and contain them in the small sphere using technology. Did you know that?"

Chris shook his head. Well, truthfully, it wasn't the first time he had heard something like this. But, suddenly, he thought that the reproachful look Karma was giving him was surprisingly cute. "Honestly, what kind of trainer are you? How did you think pokemon were contained in those small balls?"

Chris scratched his head and laughed sheepishly, going along with it. "Well... I sorta thought maybe the pokemon were shrunk or something..."

Karma eyed him with disbelief. "Shrunk? You thought pokemon were shrunk? Jeez! Look," Karma pointed at the pokeballs again. "Modern pokeballs are designed off of old pokeballs which were made from Apricorns. Apricorns are rare and delicate fruits that were discovered to have some innate parasitic capacities. Essentially, they were found to draw out minuscule amounts of energy from living organisms."

"Picking up a Apricorn wont have any negative consequence to humans, this innate parasitic system seemed to have been a dead end for the fruit until it was discovered that pokemon avoided Apricorns at all costs. It turns out that when an Apricorn makes contact with a pokemon, something very strange happens," Karma paused and shifted on her feet, obviously enjoying the opportunity to move her attention away from the serious condition of her brother. "Pokemon are very different when compared to humans, they have a mystical energy that most humans lack... that is to say, they have an energy that is present in humans but only in minuscule amounts when compared to pokemon. When coming into contact with pokemon, the Apricorns parasitic system suddenly rapidly activates. It forcibly draws out energy from the pokemon in response to this strange energy that pokemon have, and the Apricorn ends up absorbing all the energy a pokemon has, if given enough time."

"That's why pokemon avoid Apricorns?" Chris asked.

"Exactly, you too would avoid something that rapidly drained you of energy. Further studies into Apricorns revealed that it was the hard outer shell that caused the energy absorption. It drew the energy into the inner center, and if it were still attached to the Apricorn tree, it would presumably feed the tree. A system for survival. Humans eventually hollowed out the inside and supplemented the shell's ability to absorb energy, strengthening it, making it possible to convert matter into energy, and fitted it with a simple mechanism to hold the captured energy," Karma lectured. "Matter is captured energy, those Apricorn prototype pokeballs were the original pokeballs. The modern pokeball technology is based off of that."

"Well okay, that's interesting but what exactly does that have to do with..." Chris shrugged in the direction Nurse Joy.

"Well...you understand that pokemon can be stored electronically in the P.C. right?" asked Karma, she pointed to a group of computers located on one corner of the Pokemon Center. "The energy-matter transformation that pokeballs are capable of is taken advantage of, the energy is converted to data and stored as memory. The terminal Nurse Joy uses combines the two different properties of the pokeball and P.C. storage, in order to quickly heal pokemon.

"First, the energy within the pokeball, the pokemon itself, is analyzed and turned into data so that the computer can read it. This analysis quickly shows the operator, usually Nurse Joy, various information about the pokemon and any injuries it may have suffered," as Karma explained, Chris looked over the counter and saw a 3D model of a Golem on Nurse Joy's monitor. "Energy is produced by the terminal, thats the red light you see, which in turn is also digitized. The operator uses this to 'fix' anything wrong with the pokemon's code, such as 'injuries.' In effect, it's similar to the reworking of a computer program in order to fix bugs or glitches. When the code is 'fixed,' the monitor displays the code's product and if all is in order, the pokemon is reformed into energy and returned to its pokeball."

"That's what that does?" Chris looked worried. "Couldn't that backfire? I mean... couldn't you totally mess up the pokemon?"

"Relax...this isn't like 'creating' pokemon. This process simply takes the 'code' of a pokemon, its digitized energy recorded into memory, analyzes the irregularities caused by injuries, and uses extra digitized energy in order to 'fix' the irregularities in the existing code. The operator doesn't mess with the code, or rather the operator can't. The pokemon code is so large, complex, and intricate, that one mistake could cause errors in the code that change the pokemon irreversibly and more than likely, negatively," Karma motioned toward the terminal again. "However, even if the operator would have some reason to want to alter with the digitized code, they wouldn't be able to. You would need the power, knowledge, and capabilities of an entire genetic lab with seasoned doctors and researchers, the computing power and memory of hundreds of computers. Not to mention an immense source of energy for such changes, enough financial power for such an undertaking, and time, lots and lots of time.

"Anyways, compared to something like that, this terminal here is a simple machine. All it does is heal pokemon, by using energy to fill in the missing fragments caused by injuries after the energy has been converted to data, so that it is most easily manipulated for its purpose," Karma finished. Just as she said it, the light inside the tray compartment flashed and disappeared. The 3D model of an Ryhorn disappeared from the moniter and the screen turned white. Nurse Joy shuffled the tray out of the compartment and placed it on the counter.

Karma reached out and retrieved four pokeballs. Chris didn't know how she knew that those were hers, but he didn't question her. He retrieved the last two pokeballs and checked their underside. The small 'C-Bay' and 'C-Mis' he saw scratched on the underside of each sphere respectively identified each pokemon.

Chris looked up and found Nurse Joy studying him, "you say you were attacked by Team Rocket? Do you want to go to the police?"

Chris opened his mouth to respond when Karma pulled him backwards by grabbing his elbow, "I'm sorry, but we can't do that, we need to change out of these clothes, mind if we use the bathrooms?"

Nurse Joy studied her and finally shook her head. "No, go right ahead."  
Karma dragged Chris toward the doorway on the left. A sign near the ceiling illustrated bathroom symbols. Chris changed into clean clothes, a pair of jeans and shirt, in the men's bathroom and used the chance to go. It had been roughly a day after all.

When he came out, Karma was in the lobby, newly dressed in purple, looking annoyed and impatient. "Hurry it up."

Chris moved forward but stopped by the counter where Nurse Joy still stood. She was looking at Karma's choice of clothes with a raised eyebrow. He spoke a quick, "thank you." Then turned around and followed Karma out the door.

Nurse Joy considered him for a second as he left, then she turned to her monitor and started clicking away. She pulled up a 3D picture model: a moon, silvery and large. She studied it for a second, then clicked another key. The 3D model of a what looked like a teenage boy appeared. She studied this one too, something seemed familiar about the eyes. Finally she clicked again, and a final picture appeared, a 3D model of a large golden bird. When she had first seen it, she thought it to be a Fearow, but the computer had identified it: Ho-oh. That was a name she recognized, 'the phoenix' pokemon.

These three pictures had been generated, seemingly randomly, when she had been treating Arcanine. The boy and girl hadn't seen the pictures appear as they had been talking about pokeballs and energy. Nurse Joy had quickly hidden the pictures, for what reason even she didn't know. She went through the pictures again but couldn't make a connection between them. The Arcanine data code had been strange, she didn't know why, but something about it seemed deliberately... odd.

Nurse Joy sighed, she lowered the pictures and looked out the lobby glass. They two were gone, but something about the encounter had unnerved her.


	16. Time to Disappear

**Chapter 16:  
Time to Disappear**

**Two Hours Earlier/Route 9-Kanto**

Before Mewtwo had teleported away, it had used the psychic ability Future Sight. In its Mind's Eye, it saw the mutt, the boy, and the girl leaving a town. Mewtwo didn't recognize the location, so it focused and panned out. It looked at the city from high in the sky and got a better view of the topography. Below him the entire town was now visible, it was a sprawling metropolis, buildings encompassed the entire town and to its center were numerous skyscrapers that pierced the sky. A high and shiny tower jutted out heavenward to the north, a large green forest to the south, and the sea to the west.

Mewtwo opened its eyes, it now recognized the locale, but it was sort of surprised: it was the Johto Region. Somehow, in a little more than half a day's time, the three were going to find themselves in Goldenrod City.

The Girl asked where Mewtwo had brought them and he answered,_ this is Route 8. It's the closet place I thought to bring you where we'd have the least chance of encountering Rocket members who might interrupt us._

The boy then asked something stupid about it caring about Rocket members helping it. How insulting Mewtwo mused,_ I fight alone, I don't accept the aide of humans in battles, I fight how I want to fight. Not with some moron trainer behind me, barking ridiculous orders._

_ The Rocket Base in Celadon gave a Red-4 Alarm. Among the other things that such an alarm signifies, it also orders Rocket members from near by bases to converge on the base under alarm in order to give aide,_ Mewtwo paused and pointed to the west. _Rocket members would be flocking from Saffron and Cerulean. Maybe even Fucshia. All cities with Rocket Bases. Lavender Town has no such base, Rocket members wouldn't be coming through here._

The boy asked another stupid thing, he was obviously suspicious but Mewtwo's patience was running out, "you're just leaving us here?"

_ It doesn't matter. Go wherever you want. I'll find you eventually, _the feline turned its gaze toward Arcanine again._ Yes, I'll find you and I'll kill you all. For now, that is my purpose._

Then Mewtwo teleported. It reappeared at a sea port. The sea's waves pressed up against the concrete barrier as Mewtwo staggered. It looked like it had underestimated its energy reserves, Mewtwo was dangerously exhausted.

The port was abandoned, no ships were docked and no people were around. Mewtwo was relieved—it had not intended to teleport here, it had teleported and its consciousness had faded for an instant due to its exhaustion and it ended up at the port randomly. The last thing it needed was for idiot trainers to try and chuck pokeballs at it. It feared that in its current state, an able trainer might actually succeed.

Its consciousness wavered again and it reached forward, fearing it might fall. Its hands came up against something, and Mewtwo suddenly found itself propped up against a truck. It was gray with two red horizontal stripes running on its sides. Mewtwo stopped for a moment, fearing that it was seeing things, but no, the truck was real. The feline reached for the driver's side door handle and it opened. It crawled inside and laid down sprawled on the seat.

Mentally, the cat pulled at the open door and it closed shut behind it. It closed its eyes and performed a final move: _rest! _The psychic pokemon fell into a deep slumber, during which it would enter an enhanced healing state at the expense of being vulnerable.

_Half a day, 12 hours, that will be enough... _

**II**

Karma didn't stop Chris until they had passed Lavender's outskirts. It was by no means a very large town and Chris only saw two people as they were leaving, but Karma seemed anxious so he didn't question her. They walked for a few minutes when she pulled out the pokeball.

Chris stopped as she tapped the central crystal on the sphere and it opened. The familiar red light appeared and Arcanine appeared before them. Although it was still covered in the bandages from earlier t stood normally, its coat gleaming orange, it was obviously fine. Karma went to work immediately on removing the clothy bandages, while Chris leaned back.

"How ya feeling, Arcanine?" asked Chris.

Arcanine looked around the path they had been walking on and shook its head. Part of Chris thought the action had a slightly... breathtaking quality. The midday light shone off the thick coat giving it an almost glossy look. Chris thought he could see why it was classified as the "_legendary pokemon_."

"Jeez! What happened?" Aranine sounded disoriented. "Maaan..."

Chris was sort of relieved, although only the deepest part of him would admit to it, seeing Mewtwo as banged up as it had been had shocked him. He didn't really believe Growlithe to be capable of battle, but he didn't forget their encounter with the Rocket Grunt near Bill's Sea Cottage. Then, some strange fury had transformed the puppy in a monster.

What that puppy became when it was enraged, Chris personally believed, was definitely capable of murder. Chris was worried that Team Rocket had done something to Growlithe and caused it to lose itself again.

Yet Arcanine stood before him now, acting as normally as it had before it had somehow evolved. Arcanine hadn't said anything when they had helped it to the Lavender Pokemon Center. Mewtwo had not lied, a quick scouting of their surroundings had revealed the Route 9 road nearby. They had quickly discussed taking Arcanine to the Saffron pokemon center, but Karma had quickly pointed out that even if most Rocket members had gone to Celadon, some were still bound to be in Saffron. Team Rocket was bound to be searching for them, it would be safer to head to Lavender, so they had.

Arcanine weighed almost 350 pounds, and it could barely walk. Even after Karma had treated it, they both needed to help support it as they slowly made their way.

"We need to talk," Karma finally spoke out. "Greg, what do you remember?"

Arcanine raised one eye, "we got beat by that cat lookin' thing. I woke up in a weird room and got stuff done to me."

"Stuff?" asked Chris. "Like what?"

"They drew blood, weighed me, injecting me, and stuff..." Arcanine stopped and added, "oh! And they were shocking me with weird colored electricity."

"How'd you evolve?" said Karma, she didn't seem interested in the tests that Team Rocket had conducted.

"I was in that room and they made me touch a red stone," Arcanine said slowly.

"A Fire Stone?" Chris asked.

"Probably... Anyways I think I blacked out. When I came to I was on a street, the earth under me sorta jutted up and smashed into me..." Arcanine finished lamely. "Everything between there is... I dunno... Hazy."

"Somehow after you evolved, you managed to escape and battled that cat thing," Karma interjected. She quickly gave a quick synopsis of their battle with Mewtwo and the circumstances that had followed. She didn't coast over what they had seen in the Game Corner or the explosions that they had heard. Nor did she exclude the flaming Game Freak building. By the end of her explanation, Arcanine was very, very still and very, very silent.

"You saw... bodies?" Arcanine finally managed.

"In the fire, yes," Karma answered. Chris felt awkward. He too had seen the flaming bodies but the resulting battle had wiped it from his mind. Now that they knew Arcanine was responsible for their escape, they also knew Arcanine was responsible for the fire.

"So... I... I..." Arcanine trailed off. "Oh my _god—_"

"Stop right there!" Karma suddenly barked. "You don't have the right to feel sorry! _We_ caused this. _We_ have to accept that."

Chris remembered the Game Freak building explosions and wondered how many people had been caught in it. He stayed silent.

"The innocent people..." Arcanine whimpered. "How many... Because of me, how many—"

"I said shut up!" Karma cried out, Chris thought maybe she had cracked. He hadn't known her for long, but she had always seemed... in control of herself. Yet he supposed the sight of bodies roasting in the flames caused by her brother had finally gotten to her. He reached for her, hoping to quiet her but he took one look at his face and stopped. Those were not the eyes of a hysterical person. She was going somewhere with this.

"Innocent people got involved because we were taken to Celadon and innocent people have died. When we started this quest, it was to help my brother, but now we have a responsibility to finish for the sake of others!" Karma practically cried.

"What are you talking about Karma?" Chris asked.

"It was your idea, clutz! Celebi!" Karma rounded on him, eyes widening when she saw his face. "Not you too! Think about it! What happens if we go back in time and stop my brother from dying?"

Chris backed up a little, "if he never dies then, then I never meet Growlithe... So... So we never start our journey. I never meet Arcanine—or you... So all that's happened..."

"...Never happens?" Arcanine finished, strangely subdued.

"Exactly. If my brother never dies, then you two never meet. We never get involved with each other or Team Rocket. Everything that happened at Celadon never happens," Karma finished. She now had a serious expression on her face, she was looking at both Chris and Arcanine furiously. "Everything we've done un-happens. The time-line _corrects_ itself."

"So we never become friends... our memories..." Chris didn't know what to say. He really had only met Arcanine and Karma a few days ago. Yet, the idea that they might somehow 'un-meet' saddened him in a strange way. He couldn't express it but he had come to really like Arcanine and Karma as friends... To like...

"Maybe you don't like it," Karma said. She was directing this bit directly at Chris for some reason. "This was your suggestion, clutz. Things are different now. We aren't doing this just for my brother anymore. By doing this, all those innocent people never die. This is our responsibility now, it's not a choice anymore."

Chris didn't say anything for awhile, but he finally nodded. He understood Karma's reasoning. She was right. They both turned to Arcanine, to see how he was handling the news. Its eyes were closed, as if deep in thought. Finally its droopy eyelids puttered open and its eyes shone clear. "Alright, Purples. I understand."

Chris stood there, between the two, and he started to laugh. Karma looked at him strangely until he stopped long enough to answer her gaze. "So I guess I'm never going to learn how pokeballs and pokemon center terminals work, huh?"

As he laughed Karma looked at him with a strange gaze, he meet her eyes and she answered softly, "I guess not."

He stopped laughing at that. He suddenly felt very cold inside, but before he could say anything else she turned away. "Come on, Greg! Get lower."

Arcanine looked at her sheepishly. "Why?"

She looked annoyed. "Right now Saffron is vulnerable. We already told you what Mewtwo said about the Red-4 alarm. Most Rocket members have probably left Saffron to head to Celadon. Now that it's almost empty of Team Rocket, we can get in and take the Magnet Train to Johto!"

"So? Why do I have to get lower?" Arcanine said.

Karma sighed and took out her pokedex, Chris noted with some amusement that it was not purple, but rather green. She opened it and pressed a few buttons. Eventually she leveled it with Arcanine and pressed a button. "_Arcanine. The Legendary Pokemon,_" spoke a mechanical voice. "_Praised for their wisdom and loyalty, it's powered by a blaze that burns in its body. Originally from China, its most discerning quality is its speed. It is capable of running 6,200 miles in one day and night._"

Arcanine's mouth dropped open. "You want me to carry you?"


	17. Healthy Body and Mind

**Chapter 17  
Healthy Body and Mind**

The trip to Saffron took roughly 35 minutes. Chris had to admit, Arcanine was pretty fast, although having two people on it had slowed it a little. The large pokemon seemed a somewhat unused to its new large body, and it had stumbled once or twice. Each time it had, Chris noted that Karma's hands had gripped just a little bit tighter on the great beast's mane. She had explained the healing process, but evidently some small part of her was still under the impression that Arcanine still needed rest.

They had passed two walking people on the road, teenage trainers. Arcanine's large gallops soon left them them far behind and Chris couldn't help looking back with a smirk on his face. The faces of the trainers as they looked on were pretty easy to read: _no fair!_

They reached the town's outskirts, refreshing countryside cropped out into cement and buildings. They rounded a curve and found two bikers having a fist fight as their pokemon battled beside them on the road. The reason was easy enough to see: one of their bikes was on fire. They passed this scene quickly enough and upon rounding the next turn, found themselves suddenly on paved road. Further along, they reached the guard house that marked the true border of the city.

Arcanine stopped in front of the building and Karma – with grace that Chris knew he would never have – jumped from atop the fiery dog, landed on one foot, swung around to face Arcanine, and unhooked a pokeball from her belt. "Sorry, Greg."

Karma didn't want to take any chances. She assumed their must still be some Rocket Members in town, and didn't want the wrong people to recognize Arcanine. So she recalled it before entering the Route 9 Guardhouse. Inside they found an aging old man who looked absolutely bewildered, if not a little frightened. They asked the guard for directions to the Magnet Train, and he directed them: "go north on the first main street you hit until you get to the Dojo and Gym. It's quite a walk so maybe you should hit up a bus? Look for Express-G. From there, hook a left and head down that street until you pass the suburban area. Once again, the walk is pretty lengthy so you might want to take a bus. Express-B should do ya', it'll take you right to the Magnet Train. You can't miss it, the entrance is huge."

Chris had remembered his first time through the strange city, but now it had a _completely_ different quality. Before, the city had looked beautiful, the streets had been practically clear, but there was a daunting quality to it. People had been standing in front of certain houses like guards, eyes had peered out at him from nooks and alleys. A lonely wind had rattled everything and sounded like a high-pitched moan as it came through the numerous buildings and roads.

Now however, the streets were pretty full. Adults were now wandering around in what seemed like a daze, looking at each other and at the sky as if they seemed unsure of what to do; they were totally lost, at least mentally. Children on the other hand were now running around the streets, playing with each other, their laughter shattered the dread. In essence, Saffron now _almost _resembled a real bustling city and not some terribly surreal dream.

They found the Express bus stop stop on the first main street they came to, and had barely reached it when a purple-blue bus rumbled into view. It was marked with a bright "G: Financial District - Gym District", on its side. They climbed inside to find it partially full. Chris reached for his wallet but Karma already had two 1-pen (Poke-Yen) bills clutched in her hand to pay the fare. She deposited the money into a small receptacle machine near the driver (who incidentally wasn't in uniform but rather dressed casually) and strode past Chris to take a seat. "Don't worry about it, soon enough, none of this will happen anyways."

The bus rumbled down the road and made four more stops, eventually passing more than twenty city blocks. Chris was rather happy they had decided not to walk.

Chris was busy looking out the window when Karma yanked him. He looked up and found her on her feet. The bus had made another stop, he had not been paying attention but evidently Karma had; they had reached their stop.

They climbed off and found themselves directly in front of two large buildings. One, old fashioned and brown, bore the title 'Saffron Fighting Dojo' on its roof. The other was slightly larger, and its design far more modern (if not a little futuristic) and violet, it was emblazoned with 'Saffron City Gym' on its roof. In front of the buildings, a veritable troop of people, clad in either white karate gi's or weird slim fitting purple clothes, were shouting at each other. Forefront among each group was a large muscular man with wild hair and a beard who seemed the be the loudest and a woman with long blue hair, clad in black and purple, who seemed the quietest.

Chris recognized the woman with the blue hair almost instantly. She was the leader of the Saffron City Gym, Sabrina. He recognized her from a Gym leader poster he had seen in the pokemon centers of Kanto. He didn't recognize the large muscular bearded man but he could guess. When he had first come to Kanto, he had heard that Saffron had once held two official gyms. That is until one gym decided to head over and challenge the other gym for its official status. The psychic gym had won a decisive battle and 'Saffron Fighting Gym' had become 'Saffron City Dojo'. Chris thought the man must therefore be Karate Master Kiyo.

Karma was reading the bus stop guide printed on the bus sign. "Looks like Express-B, D, G, and H come through here." She looked at him and found his attention diverted by the crowd. The bearded man was still shouting above the others. "Ah... Chris?"

Another booming shout came their way but suddenly all noise was drowned out by a piercing scream.

_ SHUT YOUR MOUTH YOU SIMPLETON TURN AROUND AND HEAD BACK TO YOUR PRIMITIVE CAVE YOU PATHETIC UN-EVOLVED MONKEY!_

Chris reached for his temples. That noise had erupted from inside his brain. Nobody had spoken these words. Chris had heard Mewtwo "speak" enough to understand; this was a psychic voice.

All the previous babble had died out, nobody was talking anymore. Sabrina had not moved an inch and yet Chris knew that this voice had come from her. Suddenly the towering Karate Master seemed a lot smaller. Yet he was brazen; he had nerve, he took a breath and pulled himself up to his full height. Then he moved closer to Sabrina. He towered above her medium frame and then he smiled broadly. "Perhaps now that Team Rocket is gone, it is time to have a rematch for the city's official gym status?"

_ NO GO DIE!_

That mental voice shrieked again and suddenly Sabrina moved. It was not a fancy or quick movement, she simply raised her arm, but the very still Sabrina suddenly moving seemed surreal and Kiyo (and every one of his students behind him) jumped back a little. Then there was light—Kiyo, and everyone behind him, was suddenly bathed in a dark purple light. Kiyo's eyes widened as his little surprise jerk suddenly turned into true flight. He soared ten feet above everyone else and was forced into an X shape; his arms and legs outstretched. With a flick, all the karate students behind Kiyo fell; they were pinned to the ground by the strange light.

Chris was in awe. He didn't know a human being could be capable of such an amazing display of psychic ability.

_ SURRENDER._

Then came the pychic voice again, albeit in a slightly less shriek-ish manner. It now had a hint of glee.

"Never!" answered Kiyo. Then his arm began to turn 360 degrees and he cried out in pain. "Argh! F-fine! Fine! I give! I give!"

For a moment, Chris thought Sabrina wasn't going to stop. Her face was no longer passive and neutral. It had a wickedly gleeful smile of malice and enjoyment. Kiyo was completely in her control. She could kill him if she wanted, and she even looked like she might enjoy that act.

Then Kiyo dropped, not exactly slowly but he did not plummet either. The purple light vanished and Sabrina was covering her face with her hand. She lowered it and the her face was impassive again.

"Good, please don't come back for this particular matter again." Sabrina finally physically spoke in a steady and slightly whimsical tone. "Your furious fist can never defeat our calm mind."

The karate dojo students had risen and a few came forward to help Kiyo. He shrugged them off. Kiyo rose to his full height again. Called her a witch (with a b) and turned around. He strode into his dojo, with a slight stumble, and slowly his students followed.

When the last one had disappeared inside, and the dojo doors closed, Sabrina's trainers gave a loud cheer. They seemed very animated, until Sabrina turned and faced them with a stern look. At that they all became silent. "This was a meaningless victory, don't take pride in defeating foolish and ill prepared opponents," she pointed at her gym. "Especially when you didn't actually do any of the fighting."

At that, they all looked down and filed quickly into the gym. When they had all disappeared inside, she sighed and shook her head.

Karma was the first to move. She strode right past Chris and stopped before Sabrina. "Hello. My name is Karma," she reached out her hand and Sabrina accepted it. As they shook: "I want to prove to you that action can indeed defeat pompous thought."

Sabrina seemed surprised at that. Chris even more so. He had been thinking of challenging her, he wanted to win the Marsh Badge eventually but had decided against it. He had concluded that the battle would be a pointless waste of time (something which they couldn't afford to waste) since they were planning to erase time and that meant that the battle would never happen and he would have no memory of it anyways.

Karma, however, seemed to have other plans.

Sabrina studied Karma for a moment, then she smiled. It wasn't a smile of malice or even kindness. It was a smile of sympathy. She believed Karma stupid. "Thoughts change the world young one, actions are a useless waste of energy."

Karma smiled herself. "Powerful actions _and_ thoughts change the world, alone neither can truly triumph."

Sabrina frowned and turned around. She walked over to the Dojo yard, leaving a large space between them. "Count yourself lucky. You managed to challenge me outside and avoided the trouble of finding your way through my gym's teleportation maze. I shall battle you here. This will be a one round pokemon battle for the Marsh Badge." Sabrina raised her arm and cupped her hand. She closed her eyes and a purple light appeared in her hand. A pokeball materialized within that light. "Consider this a lesson on life, young one: thoughts shape this world. Actions are a primitive waste of energy. Thoughts are all that is necessary. Thoughts and thoughts alone."

The pokeball rose from her hand, bathed in its purple light, and soared into the makeshift arena. It opened and a bright red energy flashed out revealing a yellow and brown humanoid pokemon. It sort of resembled a standing slender fox, except it had a long mustache and two spoons in its hands. Alakazam.

Chris walked over to Karma as she reached for her own pokeball. "What are you doing? This is a waste of time!"

Karma turned to him, she was frowning. "I really hate people like her, winning on an advantage and acting like a philosophical god." She raised her arm, now clutching a pokeball, and turned to Sabrina. "Besides, I really like her sense of fashion."


	18. FoxSpoons vs DoomScythe

**Chapter 18  
Fox-Spoons vs. Doom-Scythe**

Karma chucked her pokeball at Sabrina. The throw had enough force to send it smashing into the gym leader's face but this was a pokeball and it opened midfield. With the usual flash of red light, the white Absol, Noche, appeared.

Sabrina's eyes widened. "A dark type? We don't see a lot of those here in Kanto..."

Karma smirked, "Yeah, I figured so. Psychic type pokemon have few weaknesses, and here in Kanto, it must be pretty rare you actually go up against a pokemon type where you have a type disadvantage. Even more rare must be facing an opponent who has a decent Special Defense stat." Karma's smirk widened a bit. "Unfortunately for you, Noche here has both advantages."

Noche peered alertly at Sabrina and Alakazam but then turned and sniffed in the direction of Karma. _What's going on?_ it was probably asking... or something like that, Chris figured.

"Think of this as training," Karma simply said. "In case we end up meeting that cat again, we need to be able to know how to best deal with the pesky psychic type."

Sabrina frowned, "Psychic cat? I'm not familiar with such a pokemon. Is it from a foreign region?"

"Don't worry about it," Karma said. "The only thing you should be worrying about right now is the thrashing Noche is about to hand your Alakazam."

The two stared at each other in silence, their pokemon attempting to best imitate their trainers and produce a tense atmosphere. "Fair enough," Sabrina finally said. "Let us begin."

Alakazam raised its arms and directed its two spoons toward Noche, bringing their ends together in a cross. Without any direction from its trainer, it produced a strange rainbow ball of light above the spoons and with shocking speed, it covered the distance between itself and Absol. Before Absol even had time to move back or dodge in any manner, Alakazam was above it and the ball of rainbow light expanded out into a colored wave of energy. The field exploded.

Colored light and dust covered the makeshift arena. Chris nearly fell over, the ground had shaken at the force of the blast and suddenly he was bathed in a brown cloud. Karma was still in front of him but she hadn't moved at all.

Alakazam appeared to their left. It had stepped out of the smoke and clearly thought the match was over. With a lazy wave of its right hand, blue light appeared and cleared the dust away—

Thirty different Absol jumped out of the remaining dusty coverage and surrounded the arena. None of them even looked ruffled.

"What?" Chris cried out in surprise. "Oh! I get it! Noche used Double team!"

"What'd you expect? That we wouldn't counter attack?" Karma said. She called to Sabrina, "That's no good! Psychic attacks can't effect the dark type! Your psybeam had no effect whatsoever!"

Behind her Chris said, "No. No. It's just that you didn't even give a command so it just sort of surprised me..."

Karma turned to him, "That's stupid. Pokemon need to be able to know what to do without you telling them. There will be times when you just _can't_ give out orders. Be it because the opponent has decided to drown you out with sound or turn the arena blind. Trainers should work these situations into their training regime and be ready for such situations far in advance."

Alakazam veered into the double team fray bravely and two Absol jumped straight at it. Fakes, they dissipated upon contact with Alakazam. A third jumped at it and this one seemed real; Alakazam was knocked off its feet by the sudden charge. A fourth jumped over the downed figure and the real body became lost in the haggle of fakes.

"I've taken it a step further than that. I recognize that there is a time delay between a trainer giving an order and the pokemon executing it. It's a small delay but a delay all the same. My pokemon have been trained to be able to execute adaptive responses to battle situations without me having to call them out," Karma said. "It's useful for surprising the enemy and getting an advantage."

"Ok, ok. I understand. So is that what Sabrina's done? She hasn't given an order either yet," Chris pointed out.

"No... She's psychic. It seems she can telepathically instruct her pokemon," Karma mused.

Alakazam floated off the ground and righted itself, before standing on its legs again. It lifted its right leg and it became surrounded in a blue light. With a swift tap, Alakazam brought its now blue leg down and the light spread out over the ground. The entire makeshift arena became eerily blue. The twenty-eight white Absol stopped in their tracts as if unsure of how to proceed. Alakazam raised it hands and twenty-eight small pebbles rose into the air, they stayed there, rotating in blue light.

Karma seemed at a loss, "What?"

"If psychic attacks wont directly harm your pokemon then I will use secondary tactics," Sabrina explained. "Go, Alakazam!"

The blue bathed pebbles that were floating and rotating in midair stopped, and disappeared. Tenty-eight flashes of blue light filled the arena space and each struck a different Absol. Little stone bullets. Twenty-seven of the Absol dissipated as they were struck. One, in the far north-western part of the area, was struck with such force that it was sent flying. It didn't look like it had been hit with a pebble but rather with a boulder.

Alakazam sped at the downed figure and touched it with one spoon. The spoon had strange blue electric flashes coming from it and when it made contact with Absol's body, the blue electricity branched off and surrounded Noche.

"Disable," Sabrina explained. "It's a useful normal type attack. Double Team is now one less thing I need to worry about. Don't underestimate me, I am a gym leader after all."

Karma surveyed the fallen Absol and then smiled, "Don't _you_ underestimate _me_! Mimic!"

Absol had been a sprawled mess on the floor when it suddenly lounged and sank it's fangs into Alakazam's left leg. Blue electricity ran from Noche's fangs into Alakazam: disable.

Sabrina looked shocked. "You mimicked our disable?"

"You said you were going to use secondary attacks to harm us right?" Karma said smugly. "Actually what you meant was that you were going to use psychic to control the environment and attack Noche. Nice try, but now Psychic is disabled and you're left with no offense and a poor defense. Looks like a win for me."

Alakazam jumped back, out of range of Noche, and fled to the opposite side of the arena. Chris thought Karma was right. Alakazam couldn't use psychic attacks to harm Noche, so most of its attacks were useless anyways. Now it couldn't even use psychic to control the environment. Worse yet, Alakazam as a species had a notoriously weak constitution and could get whipped out in a hand-to-hand battle easily. The only thing it had going for it now was its speed and Noche wasn't too slow either. It might be able to keep up an evasive distance between itself and Noche, but that was probably all it would be doing. If there was a road to victory for Sabrina, he certainly wasn't seeing it.

Sabrina was studying Noche through slitted eyes.

Karma called, "Enough playing around! Noche, D—"

Suddenly Alakazam was behind Noche. It had happened too fast for it to be simple speed. It had teleported. Absol sensed it behind itself and it jumped backwards, but Alakazam was gone again. It reappeared behind Noche again, this time however it took a large breath and when it blew out, Noche was bathed in an eruption of fire. From the fiery explosion, a large flaming figure blew out; the Japanese Kanji for 'fire' was formed from the flames. Noche's white body could be seen in that flaming figure.

"Fire Blast!" yelled Chris. Karma was speechless.

The fiery kanji dissipated and the burning Noche dropped unto the floor. Its white fur was charred black and covered in smog. Noche shakily rose to its feet but Chris could see it was hurt. It had taken the hit at point blank range and had been propelled off the ground. It was burned.

Then Alakazam dropped onto one knee. Sabrina raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What?"

"Pressure," Karma explained simply. "It doubles the amount of energy any attack performed against Noche requires. Looks like Alakazam is definitely starting to feel some exhaustion."

The two tired pokemon faced each other while their trainers racked their brains for strategies. Finally Sabrina raised her hand, "You're definitely not a bad trainer. It's time to finish this." She waved her hand and Alakazam crossed its spoons. An orange ball of light appeared at the end of the crossed spoons; Chris recognized the incoming Hyper Beam.

"Noche, Giga Impact!" cried Karma. Orange and yellow energy surrounded Noche's body and formed itself into a peculiar glowing and blazing cocoon.

Noche sprung forward, the bright energy that emanated from Noche made a weird blazing trail as Absol moved. The orange light that formed at the end of Alakazam's crossed spoons sprang out into a bright orange beam and it collided with Noche in a booming explosion that cratered the ground. For the second time, deep brown dust blotted out the arena and the result of the attacks was made unclear.

The dust settled and only Alakazam was standing, albeit on one knee. A long trail of uprooted ground had been made and it became obvious that the force of Alakazam's Hyper Beam had been greater than Noche's Giga Impact. Noche had been flung across the arena and lay crumpled in a heap of trashed earth.

Chris sighed, the battle was over.

Then Noche stood up and Chris nearly screamed.

Noche was a mess. Bleeding and covered in dust and smoke. It breathed haggardly and yet, it stood. It wasn't out yet.

"H-how? This isn't right..." mumbled Sabrina, visibly troubled.

"Simple," said Karma. "I told you we've prepared certain responses beforehand, and this is one. Instead of rushing blind into a power struggle, Noche pretends to attack with its all and before impact, it uses endure."

Sabrina's face was frozen in bewilderment. Alakazam was still on one knee, but its eyes were widened.

"Battles are not won by luck or by the moment!" cried out Karma. "They are won with grueling preparation and _this_," she pointed at her head, tapping it with one finger. "You pity those so-called 'fighting fools' next door so much but in fact, you're just like them. You're not an intellectual—there's nothing _intellectual _about an all or nothing last stand gambit. You're just like them. Beneath your facade, you're a fighting fool who thrives on the moment and gets caught up in the heat of your emotions!"

Sabrina's mouth dropped open.

With that said, Karma called: "Noche! Night Slash!"

Noche sprang forward with surprising speed, considering how hurt it was. The blade-scythe attached to its head glowed with a thick black energy that trailed Absol like a long dark tail.

Alakazam was helpless to stop it; Hyper Beam had left it temporarily without the energy to do anything. Noche's pressure only made this worse for Alakazam by doubling the energy Hyper Beam had required. All it could do was stand there and watch as Noche crossed the distance and slashed it with its dark blade. Blood cascaded out of the newly open wound and Alakazam was thrown by the black energy as it fell over backwards.

It landed unconscious, the match was over, Karma was the victor.


	19. Setback Concluded

**Chapter ****19****  
Setback ****Concluded**

Chris blinked. He looked up at the Saffron City Gym and was surprised to find faces—a great collage of gaping mouths—looking back at him from each window. There were even a couple of people standing on the roof. He looked over at the Dojo and saw faces through the windows there too. In fact, he could have sworn that one face in particular on the second story had a familiar large beard attached to it.

He heard talking and clapping, and turned back to find people staring at the makeshift arena from across the street. Three cars lay parked on the street, people had stopped to watch the battle. He had been too enthralled in the action to notice.

Karma was kneeling by Noche and was whispering something to her downed pokemon, then she withdrew her pokeball and recalled the Absol. Across from them, Sabrina had recalled her pokemon to its pokeball as well. She remained silent, but she narrowed her eyes and stared at the two.

Chris felt awkward. Karma straightened up and approached Chris. "We should hit a Pokemon Center, Noche is pretty hurt."

A bus rumbled into the Express bus stop, 'B: Gym District - North W. Saffron' was printed on its side. Karma turned, started walking to the bus stop and Chris followed when a psychic voice spoke out:

_ Don't __go._

They froze, and looked back at Sabrina. She was still staring at them and the psychic voice had evidently been hers. Eventually Karma turned and continued walking, "Ignore her, she's probably a sore loser."

_ I'm__ not __so __petty,__ child.__ I __know __you __want__ to __go __on __the__ magnet __train__ but __you__ can't__—t__he__ station__ is __closed._

Karma froze and looked back. She carefully studied Sabrina and asked out loud, "Why is it closed?"

_ Goldenrod__ city __closed __the __station __because __of__ T__eam__ R__ocket's __occupation __of __this __city.__ T__eam__ R__ocket __may__ have__ left, __for __now, __but __the__ station __is __still __closed. __That __much __hasn't __changed._

"What?" Said Chris. "Without the magnet train, it'll take us forever to get to Johto!"

Karma seemed suspicious and reluctant to take Sabrina's words at face value. "How did you know we need to get on the Magnet Train?"

Sabrina turned and strode toward the building, somehow managing to capture the picturesque grace of a winner—winner to a battle she had just lost. _I read __your __minds.__ P__lease __follow __me._

Karma's mouth opened. Chris just scratched his head. You couldn't exactly fight that, right? He decided to follow the gym leader. Karma reached out for him and grasped his sleeve as he walked. "You're going to trust her? Just like that?"

"Why not?" he said simply. "I think its alright. Now that I think about it, when I was trying to figure out how to get to Kanto, I was told I wouldn't be able to use the Magnet train. Now I know why."

He followed Sabrina inside and, with more than a little hesitation, Karma followed their steps.

Inside the gym lobby they were greeted by five teenage trainers who were apologizing to Sabrina for spying, praising her, and hissing at Karma—all at the same time. They each scrambled to a different part of the room (four corners and the center) and disappeared abruptly by standing on blue podiums. Teleporters.

Sabrina sighed and mentally said, _forgive__ them.__They __appear__ foolish__ but __they __mean __no __harm_. With that she turned to them, reaching out to grab their arms, and then closed her eyes. Everything around Chris became blurry and fuzzy but then almost instantly returned to clear and distinctive. They were now standing in a rather large room. There were no windows, and only one teleporter, which lay on the far south side of the room. Near the center was a lowered area that was obviously cleared as an arena for battle. The farthest northern part of the room had a raised podium; this was the leader's room.

From there Sabrina led the two through one of two doors next to the podium. They came upon a room that resembled an urban living room. Two couches laid on either side of a coffee table, a wide screen TV was set up on a wall. Sabrina motioned for them to take a seat. They did.

_ I__ should __explain, __I __read__ your__ minds __but __that __does __not __mean__ I __now __know __everything__ about __your __situation. __Reading __minds __is __not __so __simple, __I __only __got __a__ general __sense_, Sabrina said mentally. _I __know__ that __you __are __on __some __sort __of __journey, __that __people __have __died, __and __that __you __need __to __go__ to __Johto __in __order __to __save __lives. __I __also __know __that __you __are __pursued __by __Team __Rocket __and __most __notably, __Mewtwo._

"Mewtwo? You know about Mewtwo?" asked Chris. He reached out for an orange on the coffee table but was dismayed to find it was made of wax.

"I thought you said you didn't know any psychic cats?" cut in Karma.

_ I__ lied_, Sabrina said plainly. _There __are __two __reasons__ I __tolerate __Team__ Rocket's __occupation __of __Saffron.__ They __have __threatened__ innocent __lives __if __I__ were __to __try __and __stop __them.__ And __they __have __personally __shown__ me __Mewtwo's __abilities._

"...You have battled Mewtwo?" asked Chris.

_ I__ have __been __soundly __defeated __by __Mewtwo_, conceded Sabrina.

"What else do you know about us?" asked Karma.

_ Honestly,__ that __is __about __all_, Sabrina said. _Reading__ minds__ is __not __an __exact __science __by __any __stretch __of __the __imagination, __and __pressing __too __deeply __into __memories __doesn't __make__ them __easier __to __read, __but __harder __to __understand. __What__ I __can __see __at __the __surface __is __all __I __can__ usually __get, __and _trying_ to__ get __anything __else __is__ generally__ only __harmful __to__ your__ minds __and__ mine. __Regardless_, she continued. _You __are __on __some __sort __of __mission __to __save __lives __and __that __is __enough __reason __for __me __to __help __you. __I__ doesn't __appear__ that __time __is __of __true __importance __to __your __quest, __but __saving __lives __faster __is__ always __a __good __thing, __no? __I__ understand __you __need __to __reach __Johto, __I __will __get __you __there, __or__ at least __as __far __as__ I__ can. __By __means __of __teleportation__ of __course._

Chris and Karma didn't say anything for awhile, they exchanged speculative looks, then Chris asked, "can you take us to Ilex Forest?"

Sabrina frowned. _I__ am__ not __too__ familiar __with__ Johto's __geography, __but __that __is __the __large __forest __in __southern __Johto, __no? __Well, __no __I __can't __take __you __to __Ilex __Forest, __but __I __can __leave __you __at __Goldenrod __City. __If __Ilex __is __in deed __your __destination ,__then __you __are __in __luck. __Goldenrod __is __just __north __of__ Ilex __Forest. __Half __a __day's __walk __at __the __slowest __pace._

Karma looked skeptical again, "Why only as far as Goldenrod?"

_ I __can__ only__ take __you __where __I__ myself __have__ been __previously, __I __have __been __to __Goldenrod,__ but __never __Ilex __Forest, _Sabrina explained. She had been standing throughout the conversation, her face impassive, but the slightest twinge of her bro hinted that she was starting to get impatient with Karma's mistrust. _I __will__ take __you __tomorrow __morning.__It __is __getting __late, __I __request__ you__ stay __the __night._

Before Chris and Karma had a chance to accept (or decline, as Karma's half-open mouth seemed to imply), Sabrina extended an arm toward Karma, _please __give __me__ your __Absol's __pokeball. __I__ will __have __it __healed__ along __with __my __Alakazam,__ and __any __other __pokemon__ that __may __need __healing,__ and __have__ them __returned __to __you,__ along __with __your __Marsh__Badge._

"I can take it to the PokeCenter," said Karma, suspicion printed in her eyes.

Sabrina's arm remained outstretched, _I __am__ not__ asking __you __to__ like __me, __but __at __least __trust __me. __Can't __you __see __that __I__ mean __you __no __harm? __Can't __you__ respect__ that __it__ might __not __be __a__ good __idea __for __you __to__ be__ seen __around __town __if __you're __being__ pursued?_

Karma frowned at Sabrina, but she withdrew a pokeball from her belt and handed it to her. Sabrina motioned at a to the left of the T.V., _there __is __a __hallway __beyond__ that __door __with__ five__ more __doors; __three __guest __bedrooms ,__a__ bathroom, __and __my __bed__room.__ Take __two, __don't __worry__ about __taking __mine, __that__ one __is __locked._

And just like that, their conversation was over. Chris didn't know how he knew that, but suddenly the gym leader's mind was elsewhere and even though her body was still here, he knew that if he cried out, she wouldn't hear him. He glanced to Karma and found a similar stirring in her eyes. It must be a psychic-thing, Chris decided. Sabrina closed her eyes. She was evidently about to teleport when her eyes popped open and per presence came snapping back. "I'm sorry!" she cried, physically.

Chris and Karma looked surprised. "Sorry about what?" asked Chris.

"I forgot to properly introduce myself. Sorry, I've never been one for formalities but this is one thing I at least always try to remember..." Sabrina bowed slightly. "My name is Sabrina, leader of Saffron City Gym."

Chris and Karma glanced at each other and shrugged.

"I'm Chris Gemport."

"Karma. Karma Metrawire."

"Okay then," Sabrina's face became impassive and unreadable again. When she spoke again, it was mentally, _if__ you __would __like __to__ eat, __please __take __that __other __door_. She motioned to a door west of the T.V. _Beyond __lies __a__ kitchen __and __dinning__ room,__ I'll __be __eating __there__ shortly._

Then her presence was gone again. It wasn't long before her body followed.

Karma walked to the hallway-door. Before Chris could say anything, she said, "I'm not hungry, I'll be tucking in."

Chris thought she was being obstinate. How long had it been since she had eaten anyways? He decided to hit the kitchen. Five minutes passed and eventually Sabrina appeared. She had a pot full of warm thick soup, fresh bread, and a jug of milk. Chris and Sabrina sat and enjoyed their meal, discussing the battle between her and Karma in detail. He had called out Bayleaf and Mismagius and they ate some of the broth along with an Abra that belonged to Sabrina.

When the meal was over, he recalled his pokemon, thanked Sabrina and was about to retire to bed when the dining room door opened and Karma walked in, dressed in purple pajamas. Her eyes widened at seeing Chris, but she directed her attention to Sabrina. She requested some food from Sabrina and returned to her room with it.

Chris found himself in a tidy bedroom; it had a carpeted floor, cozy bed, bedside table, and large wardrobe. He changed, hit the bathroom, and got into bed. He didn't think he was tired but he had barely closed his eyes when deep peaceful sleep descended.

He first dreamed of home. Of Azalea Town. He dreamed of the Slowpoke Well, and of playing in ancient woods, and of his parents. One moment he was small and in a sunlit small dining room. His mom had brought in a plate of cookies and he ate them greedily while his mom smiled above him. The day changed and he was in a shop with his father; helping him sell potions to passing trainers. He remembered admiring their shiny pokeballs. Then he was small and sitting in a dark bedroom, his mom was crying in the next room. His dad had died.

Then he was following Chikorita into the woods at night and stumbled upon a small green pokemon, gravely wounded by a brook. He secretly nursed it back to health and became friends with it. They played in the woods until poachers showed up one day and it disappeared in a wave of green light.

Then his dream changed and it was no longer about his childhood, but of Karma. A purple smile. He wouldn't remember this later, but he dreamed of her and her purple pajamas. That dream went almost as suddenly as it had come.

Finally he dreamt one final thing. This particular dream he would remember later, it was something of a recurring dream he had seemingly always had. He was running through fields, forests, caves, deserts, mountains, and sometimes even through towns and over oceans. It felt great to run, and he was amazingly fast. He covered mile after mile and he wasn't alone either. He had two great friends who always ran with him. He couldn't get a good look at them but one was characterized by blue and the other by red. Together, the three friends visited many lands, made many friends, and became legends.


	20. Rushing to Goodbye

**Chapter**** 20****  
Rushing ****to ****Goodbye**

Sabrina awoke them early. Before the sun was even up; Just a little past 4:30 AM actually.

They got dressed and came to the kitchen where they found a little girl dressed in purple, no older than ten, placing plates around the table. She greeted them warmly and had them sit down. She introduced herself as Katheryn, a trainer at the Saffron Gym. Katheryn had been one of the trainers they had seen out front yesterday and had anticipated that they would probably be receiving an unruly awakening so she had come early.

"Sabrina's not like us, she doesn't really need to sleep... I think," she said as she poured them cereal. "In fact, before, she wouldn't sleep at all! Can you imagine?" She said reproachfully while shaking her head. "A bunch of us were worried because she would go on for days without sleeping, then she would suddenly drop down and snooze for 18 hours!"

She poured their milk. "So we went to her and made her promise to sleep at least 5 hours every night." She raised a thumb to her chin, "I imagine she probably stayed up late after you guys went to sleep, huh?"

They ate in silence for 10 minutes. During which, Katheryn eyes remained fixated on Karma. Finally Karma asked, "Is something wrong?"

Katheryn shook her head, "No... It's just that..." She moved closer and whispered wickedly, "I think you cheated."

"Huh?" said Chris.

"I think that thing you did at the end of your battle with Sabrina was a little sneaky! Using Endure even though you were both supposed to just use your final attacks... Sneaky!" she hissed.

"Some would call that strategy. Sabrina didn't object, so even she must have thought so..." replied Karma.

"Well, even more so..." Katheryn moved even closer. "Every trainer at the gym has some psychic ability, including me, and I've thought this the moment since I saw you..." her eyes narrowed. "You're psychic too!"

Chris had been drinking milk and then he snorted it at that. Karma's mouth dropped open, "What?"

Chris looked at her. Now that he thought about it, _was_ she psychic? She could see 'auras' (whatever that was) after all. There had been a few times when she seemed to be certain steps ahead of those around her. Seeing past things, like back when Chris had first met her and he tried to get information from her, or there was that explanation she had given about not needing to give her pokemon commands at times. Or what about when she just _knew _that he brother wasn't at the bottom of the Rocket Base in Celadon anymore? She had shrugged all those times off as simple preparation or luck, but... Could she secretly be psychic?

Chris found himself wondering if she was reading his thoughts as he thought them... And that made him blush.

"I'm not psychic," Karma said simply. "Sorry but your spidey-sense is wrong."

Katheryn continued with her abrasive stare but she suddenly relaxed, "Well... Ok... Maybe you're not psychic. But you definitely have some strange power." She huffed out her chest and proudly smiled, "I can sense that much."

_ Indeed._

The psychic voice came from nowhere and suddenly, Sabrina materialized before them. _I__ don't __think __you're __psychic, __Karma, __but... __I__ do __think __I__ can _see _something __unusual __when__ I __look __at __you._

Karma's eyes widened. They way Sabrina had stressed the word 'see' had been a hint. Chris thought so too. Sabrina knew of Karma's ability to see auras, but was choosing not to talk about it. Maybe because Katheryn was present company.

Katheryn hadn't noticed the stressed word. She had an even prouder smile on her face, "See! Even Sabrina thinks so! Ha!"

Sabrina reached into a pocket and removed a pokeball. It glowed blue and floated over to Karma. She took it and her eyes widened. She turned it over and found a badge attached to the underside. The pink Marsh Badge. "I don't really want this—" Karma started but Sabrina cut her off.

_ Doesn't __matter, __just __take __it._Then Sabrina turned to Katheryn, _What __have __you __come __to __tell __me?__Coming __to __simply __welcome __guests __is __unlike __you._

Katheryn again smiled and rose to an important and proud posture, "It's Team Rocket. They're back! It looks like Celadon's siege ended yesterday, and already, this town is coming back under Team Rocket's control. They are looking for someone. A certain two someones who resemble these two someones before us here." She waved in the direction of Karma and Chris. "Just thought you should know."

Sabrina disappeared. Katheryn didn't look ruffled. She sat down and served herself a cup of milk. Half a minute later, the gym leader reappeared. Y_es, __thank __you. __The __guard __houses __have __been __closed __off __and __the __city __is __once __again __being __besieged.__ You __two __won't __be __walking __out __of __here __as __easily __as __you __strode __in, __I'm __afraid._

"Are you going to help?" asked Chris. "You could go out there and fight back. We'd help."

Sabrina closed her eyes. _No__.__As __long __as __Team __Rocket __agrees __to __not __end __any __lives,__ I__ will __not __impede __them._

"What?" cried Chris. "Why? You have the strength to—"

Sabrina turned to Katheryn. G_o.__Please__ inform__ the__ rest __of __the __trainers __in __the __dormitories __that __they __are __not __to __tell __Team__ Rocket __we __had __guests __here__ last __night. __If __questioned, __they __are __to __say __that __the__ two __trainers __left__ last__ night, __toward__ Vermilion._

Sabrina wanted Katheryn gone. Katheryn knew it, but her respect for the gym leader was so great that she didn't raise an eyebrow. She pretended that this was another worthy honor bestowed upon her and left.

_ I__ am __no __match __for __Mewtwo_, Sabrina said simply.

"But surely—" started Karma.

_ No.__ My __responsibility __is __to __ensure __lives __are __not __needlessly __discarded. __Rest__ assured __that __if __Team __Rocket __violates __this __deal, __I__ shall __move __heaven __and __earth __to__ oppose __them, __but __for __now... __This __is __what __I __must __do. __Sometimes, __we __must __do __what __we __do __not __like, __for __the __sake __of __others. __Just__ like __sometimes __we __must __do __what __we __like, __for __the __sake __of__ ourselves._

Karma and Chris remained quiet. Although personally Chris had about a thousand objections he wanted to voice, he didn't think he could. Sabrina wanted to stop Team Rocket, but she knew she couldn't and was doing the only thing she could to make sure nobody died. That seemed pretty damn noble to Chris. Karma thought so too. Chris couldn't read her mind, but her furrowed brow and clenched fist said all he needed to hear.

_ Please__ get __your __belongings __and__ meet__ me __in__ the__ living__ room_, Sabrina said before disappearing. Chris and Karma cleaned their plates, returned to their rooms, and returned to the living room. Five minutes passed without Sabrina returning so Chris turned on the TV. It was some stupid movie about four kids walking on railroad tracks. He changed it and got to something weird, a continuously dancing pokemon; it looked like it was having fun.

He changed the channel one more time and got to the morning news. It was 5:09 AM and Channel 8 was broadcasting a report on what it called 'cowardly terrorist attacks' by Team Rocket on Celadon City yesterday. The motive was still unknown but the police had promised to investigate. Then the subject changed to a beach where a large blue whale had been washed ashore. People were helping push it back into the ocean.

Sabrina appeared. She greeted the duo with her usual indifference and asked them mentally if they were prepared. Chris and Karma nodded their heads and but they didn't teleport. Sabrina gazed at the two and sighed. After a strange silence, she physically spoke: "I don't know why, but I get the sense that you two are planning to kill yourselves."

"What?" cried Chris and Karma in unison.

Sabrina judged their responses and then proceeded, "It's just that... I _can_ read your minds, and can see that you are going to save lives with whatever it is you're going to do... But I also get the sense that both of you have already decided on some ultimate fate for yourselves."

Chris thought he knew what she meant, he glanced at Karma but she continued to gaze at Sabrina. After awhile, the gym leader continued, "Maybe it's not death... But I get the feeling you both have resigned yourselves to some sort of..." she trailed of. "I don't even know how to say it... The closest thing to what I'm getting is... is... you are resigned to... _delete_ yourselves."

Chris understood, she was referring to their decision to alter the past and change the time-line; thus literally deleting the people they were now, and replacing them with whatever would have become of them had they never met.

"It sounds strange but... answer me this. Are you two planning to kill yourselves?" asked Sabrina.

"We are definitely not planning to kill ourselves or each other," Karma answered plainly enough. Chris nodded his head in agreement. Technically, no, it wasn't suicide. He didn't think there was a definite term for what they were planning though.

Sabrina narrowed her eyes for a full minute before relaxing; it seemed she had worked some psychic power to test their honesty. "Well... You're not lying... But I don't think you're telling me the truth either. That weird resolve is still there..." she sighed.

Sabrina placed her hands on the two's shoulders and gripped them firmly. The room turned misty and blurry, when it resettled a second later, they were standing in a Pokemon Center. A nurse joy who had been slumped over at the counter from boredom suddenly popped up with surprise. Audible gasps also arose from people sitting at desks on the other side of the room. It was understandable, three people had just popped out of nowhere in the middle of a PokeCenter.

Behind them, Sabrina whispered a little psychic voice, _good__ luck_. Then she was gone.

* * *

Mewtwo awoke abruptly. It was shivering, cold brisk air had engulfed it. The large feline found itself in the red truck, sprawled across the driver and passenger seats. It vaguely recalled having a weird dream where some trainer had approached the truck, peered inside, and tried to push the truck with his strength. The psychic cat pushed these thoughts aside and yawned. It had been a particularly good night's sleep and it felt utterly refreshed. Although it was a tad bit peckish for an early morning snack—

In a flash of blue light, Mewtwo crashed out the driver's side door. It had just remembered the circumstances of how it had found itself in the truck.

Mewtwo was standing on a cement pier, morning fog was coming inland from the ocean and covering the land in a white blanket. There was a single large ship—it looked to be a cruise ship—docked on the pier. But there was no one walking around this early and that was not a bad thing. It hadn't overslept, its Future Sight had shown the two trainers and the dog in Johto in the early morning, the cat was right on schedule. It was now showtime.

Mewtwo disappeared in Kanto and reappeared in Johto. Far in the sky above Goldenrod City. It zoomed down, straight through lofty clouds and stopped high above a road that led south from the metropolis towards a forest. Here it waited for five minutes when they suddenly appeared. The girl, the boy, and the mutt.

Mewtwo considered attacking them now. It could easily swoop down on them in their weak moment and simply obliterate them. The trio began their trek southward, girl chasing after the mutt, and Mewtwo thought it heard their laughter. It was a happy moment for them. Weaknesses screaming to be exploited. Mewtwo, however, showed self restraint. It would not get the entirety of Goldenrod City involved, the town was right behind them after all, it would be all too easy for innocent people to get drawn into the destruction that would follow. Mewtwo would wait for them just down the road.

_ The __mutt __must __be__ first. __The __mutt __must __be __made __to __suffer.__The __others __could __die, __but __not __the __mutt. __The __mutt __would __not __get __off __so __easily..._

With a smirk, Mewtwo descended.


	21. Road of No Return

**Chapter**** 21****  
Road**** of ****No ****Return**

Goldenrod was noticeably different from Saffron. The whole city exuded an atmosphere that Chris personally felt Saffron could never pull off. It wasn't just the sunny sky or the shiny skyscrapers that contrasted with the dark, crooked streets and grimy buildings. The people themselves were different too. Happy and loud, bustling on the streets and chattering under green trees and next to blue fountains. A look of contentment and happiness cut deep in their eyes. The buzzing of transformers, the chatting and laughing of people, the spin of tires—Goldenrod was a city alive with contentment, an orchestra of urban life.

Well, there was maybe one thing Goldenrod and Saffron had in common. It was a freaking maze.

Upon exiting the PokeCenter, Chris and Karma were greeted with the sight of an ideal metropolis and they had fun ambling randomly down the roads, seeing the different shops, even coming upon a park and finding it full of battling trainers; there was a competition being held that day. Karma had to pry Chris away from that scene. "Aww! Come on! You got to battle Sabrina!" he protested with a pokeball clutched in hand as Karma pulled him backwards by his shirt.

It wasn't too long though before the duo realized they had a problem. The signs were foreign and complex; they ended up more confused than before whenever they stopped to read a city map. It was sprawled into many layers; it appeared Goldenrod had a sprawling underground to accompany its colorful surface city.

"Hey, I thought you knew your way around this place?" groaned Karma. "What kind of native are you?"

"I do!" Chris cried for the umpteenth time. "Relax... I'm sure we're on the right track..."

Eventually they emerged from an underground tunnel they had entered (Someone, obscured in a shadow had offered Karma a hair cut. She had declined) and Karma smacked Chris. "Ow! What was that for?"

Calmly she pointed to a purple question mark on a building they had been passing, it looked like it had been drawn in marker. "I drew that 15 minutes ago..."

"Erm..."

She had chased him for the next five minutes screaming threats as he tried to pacify her. People around them giggled knowingly at the two.

Eventually she had tired (Waaaay after Chris had tired, he had been running on pure fear) and they had stopped at a street vendor and bought nachos (Chris bought Karma's with a wink, "Now I don't owe ya' squat for the bus"). They stopped and asked a man in a suit the way to the southern exit of town. He had given them directions and they had seemed simple enough so they followed them. That had been a bad idea because they ended up more lost than ever.

Karma sighed, her fists clenched. She was starting to get pissed. Chris saw this with bemusement and did nothing to stop it. It wasn't like they didn't know which way was north or south. The sun wasn't high enough to be seen above the city yet, it was still too early, but sometimes they spied it between buildings when they were on an elevated floor and they could guess which way was east and west from how it was rising. And from that, north and south became clear as well. Knowing the compass directions didn't help either way. The way the city was laid out, they could try heading only south, but without fail, they would eventually find themselves heading in some other direction. The streets just turned like that.

"Mismagius! Go!" Chris yelled as he chucked a pokeball into the air. Karma turned to him in surprise. "Uh... I thought that since she can float, she could just fly up and see where we are. You know? Get us to the southern exit easier?"

Karma looked at him for a minute before she slapped her head, "Ugh... That could work..."

Chris smiled, "Okay, Mismagius! Go up and try to find the town's southern exit!" With a faint yelp, the purple floating cloak soared higher. As it glided above, Chris could make out the faint chanting. He sighed, he really did like his pokemon, but they had some bad habits, and Mismagius' chants tended to give headaches if you heard em for too long. He had asked her not chant unless they were in a battle but he supposed old habits died hard.

It flew above the nearest buildings, spun 360 degrees, looked south, looked back down at them, looked south one more time and finally descended.

"Well?" asked Chris. Mismagius floated up and down happily and started yelping melodically. It was whatever it did when it didn't chant.

"Which way?" asked Chris again. Mismagius ignored him and kept floating in circles, up and down. Karma gave Chris an annoyed look and Chris laughed.

"Don't tell me your pokemon aren't even tame?" asked Karma.

"No, no!" Chris stammered. "It's not like that... She just..." Chris sighed, raised his arms and tickled Mismagius rapidly with his fingers. Without warning, the floating cloak gave out a very girlish sounding cries of laughter. Karma watched this go on for nearly a minute before Mismagius yelped again and Chris stopped. With that done, Mismagius stopped and regained its serene composure, yelped again, and trailed off to their right. Eastward.

Chris motioned for them to follow and proceeded. Karma's mouth was still open from what she had just seen, but she sighed, shook her head, and followed.

He had been expecting a long walk so he was surprised when Mismagius led them down one block, and went down a narrow space between two buildings. Chris stopped and peered into the space. Had they just been walking along, they would have probably missed it. It was fairly dark and cramped. But inside, the floating cloak glided out the other side, through which bright light filtered. Chris thought he saw a green field. He hesitated no more and jumped in.

Karma stared at the space and sighed again before she too climbed in.

Chris reached out to the other side and toppled out as his feet smashed into something on the floor. He got up to find himself facing a green plain that stretched out to the south. Large pink cows, Miltanks, grazed and napped lazily on this land. The air had a tang of salt to it and Chris guessed that the ocean wasn't too far off. Off to the east he could make out a fence that enclosed the land and on the other side, a road.

Karma toppled on top of him. She too had smashed her feet into whatever was in the space and fallen out. She climbed off Chris and got up, surveying the land. Mismagius was floating happily again and Chris tickled her into submission for a reward. He recalled her into her pokeball and turned to Karma.

She shrugged and conceded: "Alright, so it was a good idea." She started off towards the road. Chris beamed and followed.

They got to the fence, it really wasn't that high and it didn't look very strong, yet it was seemingly the only safeguard that kept the Miltank inside the fields. Although it probably wouldn't matter if the fence was there or not, the cows didn't particularly look like they wanted to leave (a napping one nearby was snoring loudly and its feet swung lazily as it slept) and they could probably easily smash through the fence if the fancy struck them. Chris figured the fence served more as... a physical marking to show where the Miltank could graze, a marking that showed the end of the owner's land.

Karma added her own thoughts to the theory: "A few people who walk by might be scared by all those large bulky pokemon, so the fence just serves to subside a few coward's fears. Something separating them from those pokemon, even something so weak, is better than nothing."

Either way, the duo easily climbed over the fence and got on Route 34.

Karma removed a pokeball from her belt and with the usual red light, called out Arcanine. The great orange dog appeared on the road, it blinked slowly and stretched.

Karma asked, "how're ya feeling?"

Arcanine turned around slowly and its eyes fell upon the Miltank.

Chris' brow darkened, "Don't tell me you're hungry?" He didn't know if Arcanine preyed on Miltank naturally and he didn't want to find out.

"Huh?" asked Arcanine. "Nah... I'm just wondering where we are... Last thing I remember, we were outside Saffron and now... Miltank?"

Karma gave Chris a sharp look, "It's the next day. We've reached Goldenrod. And it's a long story." Karma recounted the story of meeting Sabrina and how they had reached Goldenrod. Arcanine listened to her story, Chris noted that every time a Miltank mooed, its ears twitched.

The morning sun was reaching higher now and Chris guessed that it was somewhere around seven or eight in the morning now. The air was crisp and cool, and the grass shiny with dew. Route 34's dirt road stretched out before them and off in the distance, he could see the faint tips of trees. The first hints of the ancient woods; Ilex Forest.

Arcanine came over to Chris and stared out at the road. Behind them, Karma too studied the horizon. "It's the end of the road, huh?" mused Arcanine. "And what a strange and long road it's been."

They stayed like that for a little bit before Karma came up next to Arcanine. "Come on, Greg. Let me get on."

Arcanine practically jumped, "No way! You're heavy!"

Chris laughed at that.

Karma clenched her fists and said, "stop playing around. Hurry up, let me on."

Arcanine bounded down the road, away from Karma and Chris, "I'm not playing, you're heavy!"

Karma ran after her brother, to Chris' surprise, she screamed shrilly, "I AM NOT HEAVY!"

Chris thought she must be furious as he ran after her, but when he caught up he was surprised to see she was smiling broadly. Arcanine was laughing as it bounded ahead. Chris stopped as he watched their progression. _Those __two __really __are__ siblings, __huh?_

Chris followed them.

Karma eventually explained (after she stopped running after Arcanine) that by walking, it would be half a day's time before they reached the forest. Time was no longer a priority either. They were safely outside of Team Rocket's grasp thanks to Sabrina, it wouldn't matter if they walked or not. Had it been a matter of urgency, Arcanine would comply with her request (probably). So they walked. Arcanine ran ahead of them, sometimes on the road, sometimes in the plains, and once, when they reached a twist in the road and the beach appeared, unexpectedly, along the sand and frothy water.

The road twisted back and away from the beach and they walked on. They were making better time than they had originally planned and it looked like they might make it before the afternoon set in at all.

Then, in the road before them, they encountered a large puddle. It encompassed an entire section of the road. It wasn't particularly deep, and Arcanine didn't even notice it because he had been bounding next to road, in the plains. It struck Chris as weird, but not particularly unsettling. _Maybe __it __had __rained__ recently __and __this __was __just __the__ remainder __of __that?_ That was more or less the only thoughts he spared for the puddle and soon his eyes were on Arcanine again.

Karma, too, thought the puddle strange and she too thought that perhaps it had rained recently, but she also saw that there was no other evidence of recent rainfall. No other puddles, no rain clouds, no mention of recent rain, even in Goldenrod. It was odd.

Yet they both continued. They stepped into the puddle and nothing strange happened, so they continued. Then the road exploded.

A watery explosion. The puddle resonated a blueish color and before the duo even had a chance to think, they were swimming. Yes, _swimming_. Their legs and arms kicked out randomly but they were trapped in a strange glowing watery sphere in the middle of the road.

Arcanine froze, turned, and bolted back. His eyes met the sight of the giant water sphere which glowed with a dark blue light and it looked up. High in the air above the strange scene was Mewtwo, one arm raised out pointing down at the submerged Chris and Karma. It no longer wore the metallic armor it had on when it had first appeared and now its eyes could be seen freely. Its eyes were slitted in rage. _Hello,__doggy. __Want __to __come __and __play __with __this __kitty-kat?_

It happened instantly, a bright blue and white light shot out from Mewtwo's outstretched hand and struck the great water sphere. _Ice__ Beam._

Upon contact, the water froze, along with Karma and Chris inside it.


	22. Bury the Burning Man

**Chapter 22  
Bury the Burning Man**

The huge frozen sphere of water rolled over slightly and came to rest against the fence which separated the road from the fields. Arcanine bounded forward in a great leap and saw the two black figures within the semi-clear ice that were Chris and Karma. It opened its maw wide, inside wild flames danced between its teeth. It raised its head up as if breathing in, its intentions clear; it planned to roast down the great snowball.

_ Relax, doggy. They're not dead... Yet_, said Mewtwo. A dark blue light suddenly emanated and Arcanine's mouth quickly jammed shut.

Arcanine growled in a low and dangerous tone that clearly said, 'LET THEM OUT OR I'LL KILL YOU'.

Mewtwo floated down and patted the icy sphere. _Why? They're alright in there; it may look solid from out here, but I didn't want those two dying so soon. Before I froze it, I psychically separated their bodies from the water. They weren't turned into instant popsicles when the water froze, they're just a little cramped right now. _

_ Oh! _Mewtwo's eyes widened as it stared at the sphere. _Humans need oxygen too, huh? I almost forgot about that..._

Arcanine was in a rage, it fought against the psychic hold on its maw with so much strength that it parted a little. Mewtwo allowed 15 more seconds to pass like this before it acted, _relax my furry chum. As I said, I don't want those two dying so soon._

Mewtwo tapped the ice ball and its psychic blue light emanated from it again. Like corks, pieces of the ice suddenly popped out, leaving several golf ball sized holes around its surface. _I'll deal with them after I turn you into a rug, doggy. But at least now they can breathe._

Arcanine's ears prickled and it could hear voices. They were coming from the sphere, and they sounded so muffled and hollow that they were hard to discern. But the great dog pokemon realized quickly that Chris and Karma were screaming.

* * *

When Chris and Karma had suddenly been submerged in the watery explosion, he had instinctively reached out for her hand. Apparently, she had done the same and their arms met in midair. Clutched like that, the water around their bodies suddenly glowed blue and amazingly, it jumped away from them, leaving them practically dry.

Then the water froze and Chris found himself encased in a chilly tomb of ice. He was now propped standing a little sideways in the ice. He could move his body an inch forward and backward, but was encased in such a manner than he was stuck in the position he had been in when frozen. This of course meant that he was frozen holding Karma's hand.

And man was it freaking cold.

Chris could have let go of her hand, he could have stopped clutching it and at least inched it up so to leave a space between them (he couldn't retract it: the ice around his wrist was too thin for that), but he didn't. And Karma didn't either; she held his hand as firmly as he held her's.

It was wonderfully warm.

"Karma," said Chris.

"Don't panic."

"It's Mewtwo?"

"Yeah, probably... But don't worry about that."

"But..."

"Trust Greg," she whispered. "Please." Her firm grip tightened.

Seconds passed and Chris found his breathing more ragged and the air a little warm. It occurred to him that they might be running out of air when he heard a pop, a flash of blue light, and a golf ball sized hole appeared near his forehead. Chilly air swashed his head and eased the stuffiness he had been starting to feel. He felt similar fresh air near his left hand and behind his neck; air holes.

Then Chris flinched as a scream echoed around him. "BOTHER!"

* * *

It was Karma that Arcanine recognized first. She sounded hoarse, but her intention was clear: "BROTHER! KICK THAT CAT'S ASS!"

Chris joined in with a flurry of cheers, "SHOW THAT GLORIFIED MEOWLITHE THAT IT'S ON THE WRONG END OF THE FOOD CHAIN!"

"GO, GO, GO!"

"DON'T BACK DOWN!"

"MEWTWO DOESN'T KNOW WHO IT'S MESSING WITH!"

"FIGHT!"

Arcanine stared in surprise at the cheers. Mewtwo only seemed bemused. _Looks like your little cheering squad has no idea what I'm capable of._

Arcanine roared. It wasn't a sound of fear, pain, or rage. It was a noise that signified: power.

With that sound, the voices from the sphere died down. They didn't need anything more to know Arcanine had gotten the point.

Mewtwo also seemed to understand. It disappeared and reappeared in the fields to the west of the road. It left the ice sphere next to the road and Arcanine could have taken the chance to free Chris and Karma but it didn't. It too entered the field with a graceful jump over the fence; it knew that this wasn't a time to run: it was time to face Mewtwo head on.

* * *

It's only appropriate that this piece of information be included before the climax: Giovanni is dead.

Quite surprising no?

He perished after being trapped under Celadon in his burning base from asphyxiation. After the erratic beast had forcibly blasted its way forcibly upward through the floors, fire had spread. Giovanni had retreated to his quarters and sounded the Red-4 Alarm. Then he made the decision to wait out the danger in the comfort of his special floors. The fire had not yet spread here and an incompetent Yes-Man Grunt had come in and gave a reassuring report: "No problems, sir! The escaped pokemon won't even make it to the surface and the few flames there are will soon be out, sir!" with that said, the Grunt sped off.

Giovanni had his misgivings when he heard the rumble of explosions above him but he settled down and even watched TV.

"Sorry, sir! It seems the pokemon escaped to the surface but there is nothing to fear! Mewtwo is now searching for it and the fire will soon be under control!" chanted the Grunt when he came back. Then he turned on his heels and sped off again.

Giovanni paced this time. Almost an hour passed when the Grunt finally reappeared. This time he looked grimy and out of breath. He brought no good news. In fact, just as he entered the room, the lights went out ominously.

"I'm sorry, sir! It seems the fire has spread out of our control! We need to evacuate immediately, the above floors will soon be impassa-" Giovanni stopped him there and strangled him. He didn't let go of the thin Grunt's neck until the face turned a bluish purple and his eyes closed.

He dropped the dangling corpse, cursed loudly and made his way to his door. It was still wide open from when the Grunt had entered. It would no longer close with no power. He entered a passage, tried to get to the elevators but found the doorway closed. He had to sidetrack around a few rooms but could find no way to get to the elevators with the power out. Eventually he found an air vent in an open room and managed to crawl into it, eventually ending up in the elevator passage.

He pressed desperately for one to come but no signal lights flashed and it became obvious that without power, the elevators would be of no help. He screamed in anger, he could have sworn that a back up generator was supposed to kick in in case of something like this. Evidently however, something had gone wrong.

So it was then that Giovanni realized he had a problem. Below the B3, there were no staircases. Only elevators that went up and down. It was a security measure, however, there was an emergency exit shaft on the B16 floor that lead out to Cycling Road, west of Celadon. But Giovanni was stuck on B17 and had no way of getting to the emergency exit.

He was now (for lack of a better word) fucked.

In the darkness, he wished desperately that he had his pokeballs with him. All thoughts of not relying on pokemon left his mind quickly. Unfortunately (for him anyways), he had left his personal pokemon back at Viridian City a few days back. Back at his gym.

There was little else he could do but crawl back through the vents (which now smelled distinctly of smoke) and get back to his quarters. He used his cellphone (which had terrible reception this low underground, read: almost no reception) to leave a message for his executives, demanding aide and the recapture of Arcanine. Eventually he would be rescued he figured. Consequently, he entered his kitchen and served himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and followed it with a cool glass of iced tea. Then he took a nap.

He never woke up from the nap. In the hours while he slept, smoke silently filled B17 until eventually, there was simply no more oxygen for him to breath. He died dreaming of his red-haired son.

Hours later, B7 through B12 collapsed. Days later, an Executive made the painful decision to remotely detonate several explosives hidden in B17. The following reactions caused B13 through B16 to cave in with it, thus ensuring that many of Team Rocket's most dangerous and incriminating secrets remained buried under Celadon. Stolen property, stolen pokemon, corpses, drugs, and illegal genetics labs being only the tip of the illicit iceberg.

Team Rocket loved its leader, even if he didn't share their sentiment. The Executive's action was forced by a continuing police investigation and she detonated the base for the sake of Team Rocket. They would never regain what was lost under the rubble and they couldn't risk any of it being used against them. She detonated the base, but not without tears in her eyes; almost everyone in Team Rocket still hoped Giovanni was still alive down there.

The collapse of the lower basements made the entire underground structure unsecure. The Cerulean City Police Department would not risk damage to the surrounding city or a loss of further lives, and with growing pressure from Team Rocket, they would call off the investigation.

Giovanni's body would never be found.

Of course Chris, Karma, and Arcanine had no way of knowing this (even Mewtwo didn't know), but their plan to alter the time line would also return Giovanni to life.

Many people (especially in Saffron City) would argue that a few innocent lives are well worth the death of one of the most dangerous and influential men on the planet.

Chris, Karma, and Arcanine would beg to disagree.


	23. Change in My Heart

**Chapter 23  
Change in My Heart**

_ You seem different,_ Mewtwo mused telepathically.

"What?" asked Arcanine.

_ Not so blood thirsty I think._

Arcanine opened its maw and flames danced between its teeth once again. With surprising speed it jumped forward and appeared above Mewtwo's slender frame.

_ Heh_, Mewtwo scoffed as it raised a blue bubble around itself with a raise of its arms. _That's better, doggy._

The flames burst out of the great dog's mouth in a blazing orange jet: flame thrower!

The round bubble was engulfed entirely and when the flames subsided Mewtwo lowered the sphere, only to be greeted with the immediate sight of nothing.

_ Wha?_ Mewtwo glanced at the snowball on the other side of the fence, but no, Arcanine wasn't there. The humanoid feline had thought that maybe Arcanine would back out of their fight and use the chance to free its friends. But no, it wasn't the—

Bam. With shocking force, Mewtwo was sent flying through the air and crashing into the air directly to its left. The fiery beast had charged from behind. It psychically steadied itself midflight, but Arcanine was already upon it and it snapped its jaws around Mewtwo's slender neck. With horrible strength, it yanked the psychic feline left and right by the neck and threw its crumpled form into the ground.

Arcanine planted a firm paw on top of Mewtwo's head, holding it in place, and opened its maw above the limp form. It breathed in deeply and roasted the cat, or it would have had Mewtwo not suddenly raised one arm and surrounded itself in a blinding green light: _protect! _

The green light flashed dazzlingly with white stars and completely nullified the flames. Mewtwo disappeared entirely, reappearing again above the fiery pokemon, floating in the sky. Haughtily, it raised an arm and closed a fist. The sky suddenly darkened and rumbled; rain began to pour: _rain dance!_

Arcanine hurled itself into the air. Maddeningly, its jump had more than enough force to send it at an equal level with Mewtwo, but the cat sneered wickedly and raised an arm. _Thunder!_

The sky roared as an enormous blast of white lightning arced downward from the heavens and blasted towards Arcanine's soaring figure. Arcanine had no time to even think about how screwed it was: lightning strikes in an instant. With a flash, the dog's body was sent crashing to the soft ground below.

Almost instantly, Arcanine bounded to its feet and looked up, preparing to launch an attack into the sky, yet meeting the sight of a fist. _Mega punch!_

Mewtwo had teleported to it and delivered a shocking punch to the canine's face. With a crunch, Arcanine's body was sent crashing unto the wet floor.

It whimpered but raised its head and opened its maw. Flames jetted out from within Arcanine's throat, but the heavy rain visibly weakened the flames to the point that Mewtwo simply sidestepped the fiery jet and swatted it aside.

_ Pathetic, _Mewtwo mentally said. Blue light engulfed the downed dog and it was forcibly hurled into the sky. Again, a bolt of white light flashed down and hit Arcanine: thunder. The spinning dog froze in midair and was sent crashing into the ground.

Mewtwo surveyed the orange pokemon from across the field and noted the distinctly charred scent.

A minute passed in the rain and finally Arcanine stirred. Slowly, it raised itself and turned to Mewtwo. It seemed to test its feet gingerly before bounding forward, but it no longer had that boundless gait that had characterized it before; it now stumbled slightly.

Mewtwo waited until the last possible moment before tapping the ground. Even though the ground was grassy and wet from the rain, sand erupted outwards from a sudden crack and blinded the rushing dog. It skidded suddenly and crashed into the ground. Mewtwo teleported to safety behind it, then approached it when it was down and kicked it fiercely: mega kick.

The kick flipped the great dog on its other side and caused a strained sound to escape its coarse throat.

Mewtwo didn't bother to wait for Arcanine to rise this time, it outstretched its arms and moved them in a long wave motion. _Blizzard!_

Before the psychic feline, a plethora of ice, snow, and hail materialized suddenly and erupted outwards in a flurry of white frost. This, combined with the heavy rain, instantly froze everything in front of Arcanine in a widening cone.

Arcanine itself had been buffeted by the ice and now lay molded to the ground by a sheet of ice. Only its face lay exposed; it stared out groggily at Mewtwo.

Mewtwo was annoyed. It certainly had not expected this easy a fight. It had expected to battle the same monster it had fought back at Saffron; an uncontrollable freak. But the thing that lay before it was nothing like before. Before, Arcanine had been blinded by power, and that had caused all thoughts to be roughly expelled (at least temporarily) from its mind. It had relied solely on instinct. It had been a truly fearsome thing.

Now however, it was burdened. It had all sorts of things to think and worry about. Its friends welfare and its situation most pressing; it was obvious that it allowed thoughts too much precedent in its mind.

Worst of all, it seemed the mutt didn't even know how to battle correctly.

Mewtwo could see the battle was over: Arcanine could not proceed like this. This left Mewtwo with quite a problem: it could no longer prove that it was superior. Oh sure, it could end Arcanine's life now, then move on to the two brats, crush them, and go home. But that wouldn't prove that Mewtwo was superior. Not until it faced the mindless beast that it had struggled against in Celadon and _then_ crushed the two brats could it finally prove to itself that it had always been superior.

Of course Mewtwo had no idea of how to turn Arcanine into the same monster. Before it had been mad with power, it couldn't think of a way to evoke the same state in the figure before it.

Mewtwo smiled. _Oh,_ it whispered mentally. _But if I can't make you insane with power, then I'll just have to make you plain old insane. _

Arcanine was looking up at Mewtwo from the ground, its maw held closed firmly by the snow. Mewtwo sneered down at it and turned to the giant snowball by the road. With a flick of its hand, it emanated a blue light and suddenly, half the giant sphere melted cleanly leaving the remaining half solidly frozen. From the melted side, tumbled out a purple body: Karma.

She was shocked, she was drenched in water, having been inside when it melted. Her eyes widened at appearing in the middle of a heavy downpour where before had been a sunny afternoon and seeing a large portion of the field to the west covered in snow. She scrambled to her feet as she turned in all directions, looking desperately for any sign of her missing brother, but stopping when she saw Mewtwo standing briskly behind the layer of ice.

She reached for her belt but was stricken paralyzed as a blue light overtook her: psychic. Mewtwo's right arm was extended out towards her.

Swiftly, she floated over to Mewtwo's side, and lay there in midair, arms and legs outstretched, in an X shape. Her eyes darkened when she saw Arcanine's head buried below the ice, but she was now powerless to say anything.

_ This girl,_ Mewtwo began. _She called you her brother?_ _Is she your trainer?_ _You two seem awful close._ A strange smile danced across Mewtwo's mouth, but it quickly hide it. It was playing around this. _I wonder how mad you would be if... say... someone broke her arm?_

Crack. Swiftly, Karma's left arm twisted 180 degrees and turned perpendicularly upwards. Instantly broken. Her eyes turned glazed and Arcanine instantly responded, the ice shook under its force.

_ Oh, you are pretty mad... _Mewtwo said. _But maybe you would be madder if someone shattered her knee?_

With a sickening crunch, her right leg bent perpendicularly forward at the knee. Tears lined her eyes, and she forced open her mouth to scream but no sound came. Arcanine blasted out of the ice with newly found force and power, but Mewtwo raised its left arm and psychically buffeted the enraged pokemon, holding it down; it was now determined to finish its sick show.

_ Well, doggy. I must say you are pretty mad,_ Mewtwo practically whispered. _But... I can't help but wonder how mad you would be if... _A simple motion: Mewtwo closed its fist.

For one eternal second, she floated there, her left arm and right leg horribly displaced, eyes wide, face frozen in an expression of pleasant surprise. Then the fist drop of blood trickled down her nose. That second passed and Karma's eyes widened horribly as her whole body shook and her mouth popped open. Blood, deep crimson, splashed and gushed out. She shook uncontrollably in midair, the blood continuing to come forth, and she looked like a horribly bloody marionette doll; shaking wildly, with her arm and leg pointed crazily.

Then Mewtwo dropped her. The blue light disappeared and she plummeted to the wet floor. She was drenched in water and blood, her purple attire covered in dark black crimson. She continued to shake violently, then she gave one final jerk, and remained still. In the pouring rain, Karma Metrawire relieved herself quietly in her jeans and passed away in a puddle of her own blood and bile.

_ ...I wonder how mad you would be if someone tore apart her insides?_ Mewtwo finished. The humanoid cat turned its attention to Arcanine and released it from its psychic paralysis.

Arcanine was frozen. It stared with wide eyes at Karma's body, her figure lying unceremoniously in the wet grass, her eyes still wide.

Finally Arcanine responded. Tears brimmed, threatening to overflow, it looked up, and howled. It wasn't an angry roar but a lamenting cry, and Mewtwo was honestly surprised by the deep emotions conveyed in the tune. It struck a strange chord in its mind.

_ The boy next, _Mewtwo sneered menacingly, it raised an arm slowly, threateningly.

Arcanine turned its head away from the sky and turned to Mewtwo. Tears were streamed down its face. Bright tears, they were decipherable from the rain by their strange white sheen and looked dazzling running down its orange coat.

But soon it wasn't just the tears that were shining white. Soon, Arcanine was shining entirely white as well. Its whole body engulfed suddenly in a strange white light.

Mewtwo couldn't believe it. In reality, it didn't know if its torture would work to draw the fight out of the mutt, but it had never expected this. How could it? This was technically impossible:

Arcanine was evolving.


	24. Outrun my Devil

**Chapter ****24  
Outrun ****my ****Devil**

Mewtwo stepped back almost instinctively; there was something strange building up in the clearing. It was an odd and vivid sensation, and Mewtwo could honestly say that he had never felt it before so it took a few moments for it to register: pressure.

There was a sense of overpowering force descending upon the field of battle. So much in fact that it was almost possible to imagine that the rain descending from above were rocks striking against their figures, that the ground was vibrating beneath this unseen force.

A pebble began to float.

Mewtwo blinked and turned to look at it. A small brown pebble was slowly floating upwards, towards the sky. Mewtwo might have missed it in the heavy rain but he had noticed it and now he felt apprehensive. Floating rocks. Wow. You didn't see that shit everyday. This was going to be good.

Then the bright singular light disappeared and the standing feline was flung forcibly into the air. A wall of heat had lashed out suddenly from the previous glowing form. Mewtwo instinctively used telepathic means to control itself and levitate above the ground.

Now a pokemon stood there that Mewtwo didn't recognize. It was a quadruped, larger and bulkier than Arcanine had been, with brown fur and a great mane, black bands on its feet, and something that looked distinctly like a white cloud trailing from its back.

Together in the rain they stared at each other, neither saying a word. The pressure was long since gone, there was no longer any sign to signify or express danger. In fact, it was almost possible to imagine that the pressure had never been there. Or at least, Mewtwo might have disregarded it, had he not clearly seen the floating pebble. That hadn't been normal, there was something weird going on, and now the great feline was reluctant to proceed aggressively.

The beast looked at Mewtwo calmly and then sat back on two legs, arched its head back and roared. It was mind-shattering, Mewtwo closed its eyes in pain, the noise that the dog had produced had sounded like a volcanic explosion.

Immediately, the rain stopped. The dark clouds that had surrounded the land dissipated and bright sunlight appeared: sunny day. The dog remained unruffled through all this.

_ I__ wasn't __aware __that __Arcanine__ could __evolve, __doggy,_ said Mewtwo.

"Neither was I," the dog said in a tone that most resembled a deep and wild growl.

Karma's body was still slumped below Mewtwo. The psychic feline motioned downward with one arm and blue light covered her body. She was flopped over and something went flying from her bag: her pokedex.

Mewtwo motioned at it and it soared towards him. The cat caught it in and opened it precariously. Surprised, Mewtwo looked at the dog. It had been expecting an enraged response for this action, for desecrating its dead trainer's body, but the beast hadn't even moved.

_ You__ aren't __mad?__ I__ just __flipped __your __precious __owner,_ Mewtwo sneered. _Or should I say, _ex-owner_?_

"Don't worry," the dog said simply. "Soon enough, the dead will walk again."

Mewtwo didn't like that. It darkened its brow, it was a strange thing to say.

The pokedex was pointed at the dog and it blinked in activation. _"Entei,"_ said a digitized mechanical voice. _"the __Legendary__ Volcano__ Pokemon. __Entei__ embodies __the__ passion__ of __magma.__ Its __barks __are __said __to __cause __volcanic __eruptions. __Unable__ to __contain __its __extreme__ power, __it __races __headlong __across __the __land."_

Mewtwo dropped the pokedex. _Legendary?_ Mewtwo's eyes widened. _You...__you're__ just __like __that damn __cat!__Mew!_

Mewtwo's natural calm and apprehension suddenly disappeared. All thoughts suddenly wiped from its mind, its entire being and focus now centered on crushing this pokemon. This legendary pokemon; this pokemon that was considered legendary just like Mew.

The humanoid feline outstretched its right arm; a blindingly bright blue light appeared in its cupped hand. The light swirled around and formed into a sphere as Mewtwo closed its hand in a fist. _You__ are__ so _dead_._

* * *

Chris shifted his weight in the ice ball and sighed. Something was wrong. Really fucking wrong.

He was no longer holding Karma's hand, so his left hand lay limp in its encasement. Actually, he didn't know what had happened. One moment, their hands had been together, then his whole hand had been suddenly wet and warm, and Karma had plunged downward. The force of her fall had caused his hand to smash downward and he had let go instinctively, from the pain.

His hand had hung loose, fresh and cool wind grazed his skin; in other words, Karma's side of the ice had melted. He couldn't hear her after that so he couldn't tell if Arcanine had freed her or worse yet, Mewtwo.

Rain must have been falling because he felt droplets of cold water splash downward against his skin. He wriggled his free fingers, trying to draw attention, but nothing happened.

Then his heart jolted. He breathed in jerkily and his legs shook like rubber. He closed his eyes to steady himself, to steady his uneven breath, and he was surprised to find tears. It wasn't a stream or anything. He wasn't weeping or lamenting, in fact he wasn't even sad. Yet tears had suddenly lined his eyes and he felt empty inside. Not sad, just empty.

The whole icy encasement shook and Chris' position rolled and he was tipped sideways.

He was so cold.

Chris couldn't know, naturally, but Entei's burst of heat had buffeted the now half-sphere and tipped it over. Sideways, right unto its half-side.

Chris crashed sideways and he screamed. The ice had fallen right unto his outstretched, exposed hand, shattering and breaking his fingers and bones instantly. He tried to pull it up but his position made that impossible.

He bit down on his tongue to mask the pain and felt warm liquid inside his mouth. Yet already, his broken hand was going numb; the sheer cold ice only aiding that process.

He blinked. He could see light. It was coming from the golf-ball sized hole which had been made near his forehead. Now tipped over sideways, the hole was above him; to his left. Bright light was being reflected through this. In fact, Chris could now make out the light through the semi-clear ice. The sun now seemed to be shinning.

Chris sighed again. Something really was wrong.

* * *

Mewtwo teleported behind Entei.

Before, this had been enough to get the jump on the fiery dog, but this time, upon appearing, Mewtwo was met with the sight of legs. Big brown elongated legs. Rushing straight at it.

The feline blinked and teleported again, this time to the sky above Entei, this time preparing a psychic attack between its hands, but before it even had a chance to deliver its deadly spherical blast, Mewtwo found itself under attack.

The psychic pokemon looked down and was again greeted by an unexpected sight: flames. A jet spray of flames were soaring upwards towards its floating figure, emanating from Entei's open maw.

Mewtwo teleported yet again, this appearing lower and across the field from the canine. It turned to face Entei, but found it speeding across the plain soundlessly; it was already homed in on its location. Mewtwo's brow darkened; it was getting annoyed. It raised its arms in a wave motion and placed a wall of energy to impede its path: reflect.

Entei was fast. Even Mewtwo had to admit its speed had now reached rather shocking levels. Within seconds it had crossed half the distance, it moved in quick and agile leaps. It slammed right into the psychic wall without even a hint of remorse and instead of being repelled, Entei actually pushed it back, forcing Mewtwo to flail backwards.

Mewtwo's mouth dropped open. The dog was actually pushing back its psychic barrier with sheer _strength_. Mewtwo raised its hands and pushed forward, strengthening the psychic wall. Yet this didn't halt the fiery hound, Entei kept struggling—pushing the wall steadily back.

Entei opened its maw and sprayed flames out in a wide cone. Too late, Mewtwo remembered that reflect wouldn't stop flames, and it was doused in a searing fire. Quickly it teleported into the sky again only to be surprised by the sight of Entei springing off the ground and flinging itself at the airborne Mewtwo.

The psychic cat faltered slightly; it had burns, and they hurt a lot more than usual. It chopped that up to the bright light caused by sunny day. Entei was fast. Too fast. But there was something else wrong as well.

How did the dog keep finding it so quickly after each teleport?

Mewtwo raised its arms and surrounded Entei in a bluish light mid-jump: psychic. It had done this before to the dog, so it didn't expect what it was greeted with: failure. Usually, grabbing something telepathically felt like grabbing something with a third hand springing from its mind. This time however, it felt like it was trying to grab water. Not physically of course, it could do that easily. But metaphorically, trying to grab Entei telepathically felt like trying to grab water with your hands. You might get lucky and grab some, but even then, most of it would drip out of your cupped hand.

The humanoid cat held it (sort of anyways) for a second, but quickly lost its "grip" and the dog slipped through its mental grasp and slammed straight into Mewtwo. Opening its maw wide, it grabbed Mewtwo's substantial tail and swung it in large and rough circles midair. With force, it sent the cat crashing into the field below.

Mewtwo landed limply with a thud and sprang to its feet, it looked up in time to find itself faced with a wall of fire bearing down on it. It teleported across the field, directly opposite Entei and saw it land elegantly from its leap.

_ How__ are __you __doing __it?_ Mewtwo asked. _You're __fast, __but ...even__ so... whenever __I__ teleport..._

Entei gazed at the cat intently, before tilting its head sideways and shrugging in a startlingly human-like manner. "I dunno." Without warning it crossed the distance between itself and Mewtwo. "But when you teleport, I get a feeling of where you're about to go."

Mewtwo socked the encroaching Entei in the face, the powerful punch sending it reeling for a second, before lying forward and delivering a kick that sent it spinning. _You__ just __know?__ Are __you __of__ the __psychic __type __now?_

From its fallen position, Entei looked up and opened its maw to reveal, not dancing flames, but a bright yellow light: solar beam. A bright beam of energy shot out in a wide ray and collided with Mewtwo, who threw up a blue barrier just in time to escape its effects.

Auroras dancing against the sun.

Entei sent its body crashing into the barrier and, once again, Mewtwo was shocked by its sheer strength as the blue bubble shattered around it. The feline was sent crashing to the floor, the great dog on top of it and before it could act, Entei opened its maw.

Again, flames did not appear, but instead, noise. It roared a ferociously wild noise that was mind shattering in volume. Mewtwo closed its eyes in an instinctive flinch and missed the signs of danger: Entei began to glow red. Even before the attack came, Entei heated up terribly: over 20,000 degrees. Mewtwo felt that; its whole body suddenly engulfed in a searing blaze below Entei. Then the great fiery dog erupted.

Over heat.

The field suddenly became an inferno of unbearable heat and fire. It wasn't just the uncontrollable flames either; there was a strange pressure bearing down on the land, driving everything downward, crushing everything below an unseen presence. It felt oppressing.

Then the flames disappeared. The green grass that had before stood so vibrant before them now lay black; charred. Entei rose from atop the psychic feline's limp form and trudged off of it. Entei was dead beat, its breathing deep and haggard. Mewtwo was covered in black and red; its whole being seemed unquestioningly defeated.

Entei gazed down on it and sighed, then turned in Karma's direction. Her downed corpse was further off, the flames hadn't reached her. That was a relief. For all of Entei's words of her death not mattering, he truly did care deepl—

Entei was bathed in a purple light.

It turned around to find a now standing Mewtwo, one arm outstretched in Entei's direction. _Surely__ you __didn't __think __that __was __it?_

Entei bounded forward, preparing to crush it with a tackle only to find itself going peculiarly slow in contrast to its prior speed.

Mewtwo smirked and moved. Astonishingly, it disappeared from view momentarily and appeared before Entei, its arm clutched in a fist. The wallop sent Entei crashing backwards. It looked up at the feline, now very confused.

The plain was still bathed in a strangely warm purple glow. Mewtwo stood before Entei and smiled devilishly. It raised its arms before the canine and proclaimed, _Heh,__ feeling __a__ little __slow, __doggy?__ Well, __allow __me __to __be __the __first __to __welcome __you __to __my__ T__rick__ R__oom._


	25. Visitors from the Moon

**Chapter**** 25****  
Visitors**** from ****the ****Moon**

"Trick room? What's that supposed to mean?" Entei growled as it rose to its feet.

Mewtwo gazed down at its own figure and noted the black grime and red burns. It waved its arms in a brushing motion down its body and a blue light appeared: recover. The burns slowly closed and some of the black grime disappeared.

The plains around them were still glowing a faintly warm purple. This combined with the fact that much of the grass was now charred and gave the area a distinctively ethereal appearance. Normal green grass gave way to black death; it wasn't hard to believe one was staring at the border between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Off in the distance a Miltank raised its head inquisitively, it studied the bizarre seen before dropping back to its lazy sleep.

Entei tested its front limbs gingerly. Nothing seemed broken, so it quickly leaped forward, trying to catch Mewtwo head on. Only, it found itself again going ridiculously sluggishly. It looked almost placid, leaping into the air only to find itself slowed down oppressively.

Before it, Mewtwo smirked. It easily sidestepped Entei's slow descent and, with amazing agility, delivered an astoundingly fluid kick to Entei's ribs that sent it soaring in the opposite direction.

_ Trick __Room __is__ a __nifty __little __technique, _Mewtwo explained as it gracefully ran forward and kicked the downed figure of Entei yet again. _It__ creates__ a __strange__ space__ around __the __user __in __which __reality __itself __becomes__ warped. __For__ the __remainder __of __the __effect, __the__ slowest __pokemon __becomes __the __fastest __and __vice __versa._

_ Your __speed__ was __a__ problem __before,_Mewtwo said. _But not __now.__Your __greatest __asset__ has__ just __become __your __greatest __liability._

Entei slowly rose to its feet. It tried to lash out and surprise Mewtwo with a bite but it found what should have been a quick attack slowed down unbearably. Again Mewtwo fluidly sidestepped and delivered yet another devastating kick, only this time to the great dogs face.

Entei was sent backwards again and, this time, was met with a fist. Entei attempted to jump backwards but was far too slow. Mewtwo unleashed a wave of agile kicks and punches, quickly capsizing the legendary beast.

Mewtwo raised an arm: bright electrical currents materialized along its cupped hand and arm. _I __don't __know __how __you __managed __to __evolve __into __a __legendary __pokemon.__ I __know__ enough __about__ legendary __pokemon __to __know __that __none __of __them __evolve. __Any __other__time, __and __I__ might __actually __be__ interested __in__ studying __you __and__ discovering __the __truth... __But __frankly, __you're __caused __me __enough __trouble__ and __now__ I__ don't __really __care._ _Goodbye._

Mewtwo reached outward and touched the great dog with its electric covered arm. Surprisingly, nothing happened. The electric current disappeared upon contact with Entei's body. Mewtwo lumbered backwards, surprised written on its face. _What?_

Entei looked up, a smug smile on its face. Mewtwo's eyes widened as it saw that Entei's limbs were dug snugly into the black earth. The fiery dog had grounded the electrical current by jamming its extremities into the ground.

Before Mewtwo even had time to react, Entei was upon it. Now it moved with a speed that was superior to even its prior agile gait, and it landed a succession of devastating blows upon the psychic cat's humanoid frame. Mewtwo attempted to flee by sprinting sideways but Entei was able to keep up with its enhanced speed. Eventually, Mewtwo was forced to teleport across the purple clearing but Entei was already turning in its direction. Mewtwo couldn't afford to forget that the mutt could somehow tell when and where it would teleport to.

_ How?__ How'd __you__ get __your __speed __back, __doggy? _Mewtwo practically fumed. _Trick __Room __should __be __impeding __you!_

"Oh, I just figured it out," Entei said calmly. "It seemed weird. I wasn't slow until I actually tried to _run__**.**_Before that point, my speed was normal. So I was thinking about it and I realized what that must mean. Trick Room itself didn't make me slow and you fast, it just reversed 'slow' and 'fast.' So if I try to run, I slow down... but if I instead try to just walk..." Entei crossed the distance between itself and Mewtwo in an instant. "I speed up instead. The trick is to go slow if you want to go fast. And go fast if you want to go slow."

The humanoid feline threw up a barrier around itself but still found itself forcibly flung into the air by the force of Entei's collision into its bubble. It steadied itself in the sky and gazed down at Entei. The great canine peered up at it alertly, studying it silently. Mewtwo sighed and raised its arms. The warm purple light that surrounded the field disappeared. Trick room dissipated.

Having accomplished that, Mewtwo smiled graciously and lowered itself, leveled with Entei. Entei hesitated slightly, now cautious; Mewtwo was planning something. In one fluid and quick motion, Mewtwo formed a cupped fist and a bright yellow and blue current of electricity appeared. It tossed the electric bolt straight into the sky and with a deafening boom, a slim blast of lightning flashed downward from the illuminated heavens, above Entei's position: shock wave.

Instinctively, Entei grounded its legs into the ground in the few seconds it had before impact in order to ground out the electrical blast. It worked: Entei's body was purged of the charge as soon as it hit, but a second later, Entei gave out an earsplitting scream.

Entei arched backwards, its eyes shut in pain, its maw wide open, spewing out a jet of flames into the sky. Below it, the earth had suddenly crunched and cracked autonomously. Blood gushed out from the cracks in the dirt. Entei's four legs had just been shattered.

Mewtwo grinned before Entei. When the great dog had dug its paws into the ground, it had used Earthquake, and crippled Entei by crushing its leg's bones.

Entei pulled and crawled out from its semi-buried position and collapsed in a heap. It was no longer capable of walking.

Its breathe became ragged and haggard, its legs jutted out in weird angles, coated in brown dirt and dark red blood.

Mewtwo approached the downed figure and laughed haughtily. It was over. _Goodbye,__doggy._

A bright orange light appeared in its cupped fist: hyper beam. It lowered its arms and prepared to blast the broken figure of Entei into kingdom come.

"Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" a shrill voice cried out.

_ What? _Mewtwo cried out in surprise. It turned around, towards the source of the cry, and found a single point of bright green and white light had suddenly formed behind it.

Mewtwo jumped away from it in self-defense as the point of light intensified and widened. The light became a solid wave-like formation. That annoying high voice kept yelling, "Piiiiiiiiiii!" And then, three new figures appeared at the center of the light. The light subsided as the four separate figures stepped forward in unison.

Foremost among them was a small floating figure. It was green fairy like pokemon. It had antenna, a pointed head, and dark ringed eyes.

Behind it stood three quadrupedal pokemon. An Entei was among them, it looked identical to the one Mewtwo had been recently battling. Another was blue, with a large crystal crest, and a long wavy mane that seemed to whip out randomly as if the wind was flowing through it. Beside it stood a yellow beast, it looked distinctively more feline than the other two; it had a pair of long fangs and a ferocious snarl to accompany it, and something that looked like purple storm clouds running from its back.

Mewtwo's mouth dropped open with the sudden arrival of these unexpected guests. The floating fairy gazed happily at it, and behind it, the red, blue, and yellow beasts surveyed the scene calmly. Their gazes turned, from the blackened land, to the pile of ice near the road, to Karma's corpse, to Entei's downed figure, and finally, they rested on Mewtwo.

Silently, they studied Mewtwo, then they glanced at each other, nodded and darted out. Each of the three pokemon went in a different direction; Entei dashed towards the fallen Entei, Suicune sprinted towards Karma's corpse, and Raikou ran towards the ice Chris was buried under.

_ What __are __you__ doing?_ raged Mewtwo, it rose into the air but was shocked into silence by what it saw.

Entei laid down and placed its head on the fallen Entei's (Greg's) body. It began to glow a rhythmic red and orange that spread to the second Entei's body. Suicune laid down and placed its head on Karma's corpse. It too began to emanate a rhythmic blue and green that spread to Karma's body. Raikou approached the clump of snow on the road and placed its head against the ice. It began to shine yellow and white that suddenly cracked the ice, exposing Chris, and spreading to his body.

Mewtwo was blinded as these points of light suddenly dazzled a multi-colored energy, and slowly dissipated. _What?__What __is __happening?__ What __is __this?_

Karma's eyes fluttered open. Her limbs were no longer pointed oddly, she was no longer covered in blood, she looked fine. She coughed slightly and lifted herself into a sitting position. She gazed in awe at the Suicune as she climbed to her feet, her purple eyes shinning oddly.

Chris climbed out of the shattered ice ball, he felt fine now, his hand was no longer broken. He stood atop the pile of snow and stared at the Raikou, wonder printed on his face, shining in his eyes.

Entei too rose to its feet. Its legs were no longer crushed, it no longer looked tired; it yawned and blinked in surprise at the accompanying Entei which had apparently revitalized it.

_ WHAT__ THE __HELL __IS__ GOING__ ON?_Mewtwo practically exploded, psychic energy booming around it.

Raikou motioned for Chris and began to walk back, towards Entei, Suicune, and the dancing fairy. It purposely kept its gait at a slow speed so Chris could keep up. Chris scratched his head for a second, but shrugged and followed; running besides it. He stopped solid when he saw the green dancing fairy in the middle of the field.

"Celebi?" Chris said. "Is it really you?"

"Piiiiiiii!" the small fairy pokemon cried, flying over to Chris and laughing happily.

"That's Celebi?" Karma asked as she walked beside Suicune towards Chris. "What's going on? What's happened?"

The two Entei approached as well, leaving an angry floating Mewtwo to glare and motion behind them.

"You three have to go," said Suicune from besides Karma, speaking in a lilting, singsong voice.

Chris, Karma, and Greg turned towards the blue beast. They hadn't been aware these pokemon were capable of speech.

"Don't worry about it," spoke up Raikou. Its voice was considerably gruffer, but not without a hint of kindness. "I know it seems weird, but you guys don't have the time to worry about that now. What with mister nasty-kitty-cat over there." It motioned back towards Mewtwo.

"You need to hurry, Celebi will take you back," Suicune explained. "Please, just hurry and save my brother."

Karma, Chris, and Greg turned to Suicune at that. "What do you mean... save _your_ brother?" asked Chris.

"You know damn well what I mean, klutz," Suicune said.

Chris' mouth dropped open. His eyes skipped between Karma and Suicune, "You... You're... Karma?" He took a few unsteady steps towards the Suicune. "Is that you? How—"

"Geez... Was I always that dense?" said the Raikou while rolling its eyes. The newer Entei laughed at that.

Chris turned to Raikou, mouth wide open, he looked a little pale. Weakly, he said, "No... way... You... You're..."

"Yeah, I'm you. Suicune is Karma and Entei is Greg," Raikou finished. "Surprise, surprise."

Karma was taking the news fairly well. She didn't look like she was about to faint, like Chris felt, but she eyed Suicune with something more like disappointment. Suicune picked up on it right away: "You're wishing I was purple, huh?"

Karma looked surprised, "Wha? No... I..."

Suicune laughed. "Relax, I wished the same thing when I first saw myself. Blue really isn't my color."

Entei eyed itself with amusement. "I don't get it. You're us, but how...? I mean, we're here and you're... Ah..."

"Celebi brought us," the newer Entei answered. "We're from the future."

"From the future?" asked Chris, turning towards the dancing fairy as it floated up and down happily.

"Two hundred years from the future to be precise," answered Raikou.

"But... Why are you... Why are we... pokemon?" asked Greg, his brow raised. "How?"

Entei, Suicune, and Raikou looked at each other before Suicune answered. "Well... We probably shouldn't tell you... But... You're about to lose your memories soon anyways, so..."

"Humans don't naturally become pokemon when they die, don't think of it like that," the newer Entei explained. "It's just Ho-Oh..."

"Ho-Oh?" asked Greg.

The ground shook beneath them and glowed a dark blue. Behind them, Mewtwo had grown impatient and was soaring above them, blue energy now radiated off of its cupped hands. _Enough __talking!_ It angrily motioned towards Entei, Raikou, and Suicune, _I'll __crush __you__ all!__ Any one__ who __dares__ disrespect__ me!_

Entei, Suicune, and Raikou stepped forward. Suicune glanced back at the trio: "We'll deal with the cat, you three just go with Celebi."

Chris wanted to say something then. Almost automatically he inched forward, mouth opening to express his wishes to not be split from his friends, but before he could, Suicune added softly: "I know you don't want to split up. It's only natural not to want to say goodbye to new friends. But relax, alright? Goodbye is only a word. You'll meet up again eventually. I should know right?"

Chris, Karma, and Greg stared in amazement at the beast trio, words seemed to fail them.

Celebi appeared above them and gave a long cry: "Piiiiiiiiiiiii!"

Karma, Chris, and Greg huddled together, as a wavy green and white light began to flow out from Celebi, encompassing the trio and blotting out their senses. As everything was screened out by the light, time seemed to slow, and sounds echoed, almost as if they were entering a tunnel. Eventually, all they could hear was Celebi's cry. The last thing they saw was Entei, Suicune, and Raikou charging the enraged Mewtwo, and then they disappeared into time.


	26. Return to Death Time

**Chapter**** 26  
Return ****to ****Death**** Time**

Chris plopped down on his knees. He breathed out heavily and sighed. Things were happening too fast. What he wouldn't give for a nice long hot bath, to sit back and let the steam bloat out all the confusion away...

Around him the green and white light was dissipating; slowly, the background became visible. It was dark now; night time, a large clear full moon illuminated the plain that stretched out around around them. There were no Miltank within view now, the grass of the plain was now pristine, the dark and burned area was gone, and the mound of ice had disappeared from the road.

Mewtwo, Entei, Suicune, and Raikou too had disappeared.

Chris had been the one planning to go back in time, but even he found it a little hard to believe they had actually just done it. Was he himself, somewhere at this moment, sleeping at the Cerulean Pokemon Center? Was Entei, no Greg, about to be murdered?

Beside him, Karma looked down at him. The moon made her purple eyes beautiful he thought. She sighed and said, "They weren't lying."

"Hmm?" asked Entei behind them.

"Their auras. Suicune, Raikou, and the other Entei... They all had human auras: blue." Karma explained.

Chris glanced up. Celebi was no longer dancing in the air, now its eyes were closed. Its attention seemingly turned toward the sky, its breath now deep and a little ragged.

"I don't get it," Entei said bluntly. "I thought we were doing this so that we could undo everything and make sure I _didn't_end up as a pokemon. But in the future we're going to be pokemon anyways? How the hell did _that _happen?"

Karma looked unsure and Entei's brow was darkened. They were deep in thought. Oh sure, the situation probably warranted at least a little thought. In fact, the very nature of reality probably required a little re-thinking at this point. But Chris was tired: "Enough!"

Entei and Karma looked down at him, and even Celebi lifted one eye and peeked down. Chris sighed and laid outstretched on the grass. "Whatever happens, will happen. I don't think there's any point worrying about it now. Let's worry about the future when it comes."

"Pii!" Celebi peeped out happily above him. Then it closed its eyes again, facing the sky again.

Karma shook her head at Chris and sighed at Celebi: "Figures, a time-traveling pokemon _would_ like that sort of mentality..."

Entei grumbled something inaudible and lay down as well. Karma glared at him but she too quickly sat down as well. Not as carefree as Chris, but crossed legged.

About twenty minutes passed like this; the trio surrounding the green fairy as it floated in midair quietly, its dark-ringed eyes still closed. Then those eyes popped open and it floated down to ground level between them.

"Pii!" it cried as it motioned out to them. Chris looked unsure, until he remembered that Sabrina had made physical contact with them before teleporting them. He rose slightly and reached out, grabbing Celebi's small hand. Karma, too, had gotten the point and she reached out as well. Entei got it last, but he imitated the two humans and lumbered forward, its large front paw placed on top of the others.

Everything became white and pearly. Chris stumbled slightly and fell back when the land seemed to lurch upward and suddenly, they found themselves facing a hedge.

The night was clear. The moon's light now seemed much brighter, and the verdant green scenery was highlighted nicely.

Celebi was gone. It hadn't time traveled away however, the usual green and white light Chris now associated with that action wasn't present. Evidently, it had simply teleported there in and teleported itself away.

Chris got up and brushed himself off slightly. His hands were wet from the dew on the grass. Beside him, Karma too rose and glanced up at the great white satellite in the sky: "The moon, hmm? Alright, but what about 'fire' and 'bird'?"

Chris shrugged. He didn't think it mattered.

Ho-Oh is a Fire and Flying Type pokemon Chris suddenly remembered. His eyes widened at that; he was a native of the Johto region so he knew about the legendary Ho-Oh, he had visited the Tin Tower Shrine as a child. But he hadn't made a connection to Ho-Oh until now, now that the other Entei had mentioned the mythical phoenix.

Ho-Oh brought the first legendary beasts back to life when they had perished in a fire... Another thought hit Chris, this one like a brick. Ho-Oh was a 'phoenix', it had the power to rebirth not only itself but others. Suicune, Entei, and Raikou...

Things were beginning to connect. He didn't say any of this out loud, but some of the weirder corners came together in his mind. Like a loose puzzle. Yet the center still wasn't clear. Even if Ho-Oh had brought Greg back to life, why it had done so was unclear. Or at what time even, after all, it didn't appear that Ho-Oh was around here. And why were the three of them still pokemon in the future?

Chris sighed. It was a jumble. The more that seemed to make sense, the weirder it got.

Entei stood beside them, its face turned to the hedge. Its face rapt with attention. Karma glanced at it: "What's wrong?"

Entei sniffed the air and suddenly bounded outward. Its large body instantly cleared the hedge, and it ran headlong into the area beyond. Chris and Karma cried out and followed. Their hurried paces however were no match for that kind of speed and they fell behind immediately. They saw Entei bound into another hedge and then heard its bark. Quite a cry it was, the quiet of the land was shattered, in it's place an explosively furious sound raged.

The great fiery dog's cried filled the air as Chris and Karma proceeded forward. They reached the hedge together (Chris substantially out of breath; Karma didn't look quite as perturbed) and found Entei was stationed between two people.

The moon filled the clearing and the scene was bathed in silver. Entei's body was turned towards a man. The man backed away quickly from the large dog, but tripped and landed sprawled on the floor, his knife spilling into the grass.

"Greg," Karma muttered beside Chis, her eyes focused on the second person.

Chris turned and found the second person in the clearing. An elder boy, he was dressed simply enough, shirt and jeans. Although Chris noted he had blond hair and, Chris could have sworn, in the light from the moon, that purple sparkled in the boy's eyes.

Then Chris felt stuffy. It was unnatural and he glanced around. Entei's large barks were slowly becoming more drowned out by a large humming. The noise echoed as if they were entering a tunnel. The dark of the night was becoming brighter and brighter.

Chris' thoughts were becoming incohesive but he guessed accurately enough about what was happening: he was un-becoming. Entei's intrusion into the events on the other side of the hedge had changed the time line enough. Greg would no longer die, so he would never become a Growlithe, and they would never meet. They would never embark on their quest to return Growlithe to human form, so Chis theoretically shouldn't be back in time to stop a murder. Since now it hadn't happened.

Chris turned to Karma beside him. Noise was no longer audible to him. But he reached out and pulled at her to get his attention. He told her how he felt. Of course she couldn't understand him at this point, but she seemed to get the message clear enough. For the first time, she smiled at him. She hugged him, and elation filled his entire being. Or rather, the little he could still feel.

He could have floated away then, and he did. His consciousness disappeared into time.

* * *

On the other side of the hedge, the Entei had leaped unto the man in the over coat. The strength of the beast (and the sheer fright) had sent the dirty man stumbling; unconscious. Entei had then proceeded to maw his legs, its intent on leaving him crippled.

Yet this was for naught. Greg witnessed the fiery dog seemingly kill the man, and he too had drawn a pokeball for protection. Yet before he could even call out a companion, the Entei suddenly disappeared. As if it had never been there at all, the dog vanished into the night. Quiet returned to the clearing and Greg stopped to look around nervously.

He approached the downed man and was surprised to find no hint of crimson blood, shattered bones, or orange sinew. The man's legs were fine, he laid there sprawled on the grass, as if the attack had never occurred...

Greg swore he had seen the beast rip through his legs and now he was even more confused than before.

A knife gleamed out from the grass and Chris remembered. The man had been following him, approaching him with that knife just when the great beast had barked out. _Had__his__life__been__saved?_ he wondered somewhat numbly.

He kicked the sprawled man and a moan escaped his lips. A pokeball clutched in his hands, he intended to immobilize the man and take him to Bill's house. Bill was his distant cousin, he had been on his way to visit him before the events had unfolded. He was genius. A crazy genius. He was also prone to nights of insomnia and nocturnal activity, staying awake to obscure hours, so it was usually best to visit at night if you wanted to catch him awake.

Greg's pokeball was tossed and opened, the red light flashing outwards to reveal a large dinosaur like pokemon. It was green, a sauropod, with a long neck. Its body was bulky, and it had great green leaves sprouting down its back. Below its head lay a clump of seemingly ripe bananas: Tropius. The great pokemon trumpeted and turned to its trainer.

"Hey yourself, Forestwalker," Greg said. He pointed to the downed figure of the man: "Grass Knot!"

The over coat man had awakened to the large Tropius' bellows. He groggily cried out and crawled backwards. Forestwalker rose slightly to its hind feet and slammed downwards. The green of the grass and hedges suddenly glowed a bright verdant light and the plants came to life. They grew wildly and grabbed at the man, wrapping around him, leaving him completely tied up. His body wriggling wildly, his voice muffled by plants that had tied around his mouth.

Greg patted Tropius and scooped up the fallen knife. Reflecting mentally on the shiny metal, he sighed. It had been one strange night.

* * *

Back at the Cerulean City Pokemon Center, Chris Gemport rose from a troubled sleep. His bed covers tossed messily, his eyes opened groggily and he yawned. Silver light danced in from the window and illuminated half the dark room. He glanced at the wall clock and found it read 4:59 AM. Beside his bed, his pokeballs lay clumped together.

He yawned again and plopped back unto bed. He needed his rest, he planned to challenge the Cerulean City Gym later that day.

Memories of whatever he might have been dreaming disappeared as he fell back into slumber.

* * *

Karma had spaced out. Noche yelped at her and she jumped.

That was so unlike her, Karma was a little unsettled. She never simply drifted off mentally like that. She looked around and saw the clearing she and her pokemon were in. They were performing their usual early morning training. It was still dark out, but in some minutes, the first hints of sunlight would appear behind the mountains.

She had already forgotten what she had been day dreaming about, and saw Absol staring at her from above a ridge. She had been challenging her pokemon to improve its jumps and it had cleared it, only to find its trainer had spaced out on it. It yelped again.

"Sorry, sorry," Karma coughed. "Good job though, your jumps are really improving."

Noche beamed and Karma turned to Piedra and Cuerno. They were sparing further off in a make shift clearing.

Karma turned upward and caught sight of the moon. It was truly large this night and it basked the forested clearing in a nice light. The moon—

Karma blinked. For a second the moon had seemed significant to her. But then the thought had passed, and her trail of thought had become hazy.

She shook her head and turned her attention back to her pokemon.


	27. Epilogue: The Future we Chose

**Chapter 27/Epilogue  
The Future We Chose**

**Route 25-Kanto/The Couple's Pond  
Afternoon/Tuesday**

She slapped him. Hard. He stepped backwards in surprise and she took the chance to shove him into the pond that lay behind him. With that, she turned around on her heels and stormed off sending a loud "Pervert! See you never, Chris!" over her shoulder at him. He rose soggily out of the clear water and sighed.

In retrospect, it had not been a very good date from the start.

He had arrived late at the Poke-Center. He had refused to take part in the Nugget Bridge battles for fear that he would lose, which made him look like a coward. Their "romantic" stroll through the series of hedges on Route 25 had been interrupted when they stumbled into an area that had been completely closed-off and barred by a wild overgrowth of plants, and had to take a detour; thus completely missing out on the beauty of the area. Then, all he had wanted was a little kiss to end the day, and had unintentionally tripped and brushed against her chest.

_ She really didn't take that well_, he thought as he got up from the knee deep water. _She really didn't take anything else well either... What was that detour about anyway? All those plants had over grown all over that hedged clearing... _It seemed weird to him that such a growth of plant life had been allowed to occur in an area where people obviously usually ventured through. _The grass almost seemed knotted,_he mused as he squeezed the water out of his damp shirt.

From somewhere above him, someone suddenly laughed out. Chris' face snapped upwards, and he found a blonde older boy in hysterics, grabbing at his stomach, tears of ecstasy streaming down his cheeks.

Chris' face glowed bright red and he jumped out of the water; trying desperately to hold on to any shred of dignity he could still produce.

The blonde boy approached him, a pleasant smile stretched on his face. The boy bent down and removed his pack. He shuffled through the contents and removed a single purple towel. He handed this to Chris: "That looked painful."

Chris took the odd towel, and looked the boy in the face. Purple eyes. That thought struck out easily enough, now that the purple towel's color had placed the color in his mind. Chris looked at the towel and shrugged: "Felt painful."

They introduced each other easily enough, exchanging names while Chris dried off the excessive moisture: Chris Gemport and Greg Metrawire. How do you do? Fine, fine. Thanks for asking. Mind not telling anyone what you just saw? No, can do! Aww, come on! Fine, fine. That sort of thing.

It turned out that Greg was a distant cousin to Bill, the famous researcher who lived in the SeaSide Cottage on the cape. Greg was visiting his cousin for a few days while he passed through Cerulean and happened upon Chris' unfortunate scene.

For his part, Chris explained that he wanted to take part in gym battles in order to defeat Kanto's Elite Four. He summarized that he was a native of Johto and hadn't been able to defeat Johto's Elite Four, so he had come to Kanto to train from anew.

Together they walked back towards Cerulean.

* * *

And, well, from that inauspicious start, they quickly became fast friends. It wasn't long before they found themselves traveling together from town to town all over Kanto. It had happened almost instinctively and neither had asked the other if they wanted to travel together, it had simply happened.

They were both doing the Kanto-Gym-Badge-Thing, which was the reason why Greg was in Kanto in the first place, and eventually, they both found themselves challenging Kanto's Elite Four.

Chris was a fairly good trainer, his pokemon were trained and loyal, and he ranked above the usual trainer when it came to battles. Yet even Chris was amazed at Greg's pokemon and their skills. His pokemon were fantastically powerful and dangerously explosive opponents in battle. Each were honed warriors who had mastered their skills, and perfected their technique and strategy.

It wasn't long before they were not only good friends, but fierce rivals. Although admittedly, at that point, it was only a one-sided rivalry, with Chris trying desperately to catch up to his new friend.

Chris made it to the 3rd consecutive battle at Kanto's Elite Four, but was felled by Agatha and her ghostly technique. Greg on the other hand, brought the battle all the way to Lance the dragon master, and triumphed; a Kanto Leage Champion.

The celebration was short lived, Chris demanded they then head to Johto, back to his home region.

Seeing the results at Kanto's Elite Four, Chris was spurred forward. They traveled over his home region to earn their badges (Chris wasn't forced to re-earn his, but he decided to do so anyways, simply for the experience's sake) and eventually reached the Johto League.

This time the results were more than surprising. Both Chris and Greg became Johto League Champions. Chris' effort had paid off, he was quickly catching up to Greg's level.

From that point on, their rivalry became a true one. No longer one-sided, they both recognized that each other was a worthy opponent.

Again they traveled, this time their destination decided upon a region of Japan foreign to both of them: Sinnoh. However, having dropped by Chris' home in Johto, Greg too decided to swing by home. On their way to Sinnoh, they sidetracked to Hoenn, to home-sweet-home.

There Chris was introduced to Greg's family, and most notably, to Greg's younger sister: Karma Metrawire. The two hated each other at first sight. Their first conversation ended with Karma screaming that Chris was a slow-witted klutz and Chris yelling that Karma was a purple toad.

That conversation led to a pokemon battle that Chris decisively won.

Karma fumed at the result and demanded to accompany Greg and Chris to Sinnoh. Promising to train and eventually crush Chris silly: "I must be slacking off if that klutz can beat me..."

The trio travelled together from then on, as friends.

* * *

Chris continued to have a recurring dream:

_ He was running through fields, forests, caves, deserts, mountains, and sometimes even through towns and over oceans. It felt great to run, and he was amazingly fast. He covered mile after mile and he wasn't alone either. He had two great friends who always ran with him. He couldn't get a good look at them but one was characterized by blue and the other by red. Together, the three friends visited many lands, made many friends, and became legends._

Unbeknownst to him, he wasn't the only person who dreamed that particular dream regularly. In fact, he traveled with two people who happened to share that very same dream.


	28. Prologue 2: A Moment Lost in Time

**Chapter 28/Prologue 2  
A Moment Lost in Time**

_ Then he was gone._

_ I gasped for air and tried to reach for my fallen pokeball, but had lost control of my arms. Blood was still gushing out of me and all I could do was fight to keep my eyes open. I looked up and at last, I was able to appreciate the true grace and beauty of my location and of the moon._

_ The moon._

_ The moon._

_ A bird came down from the moon. _

_ I coughed uncontrollably and my body shook. _

_ The bird landed in the clearing, it was enormous, its huge body easily filling up the space between heaven and land. It gazed pensively down at me and gave a single quiet 'kaw'. The sound conveyed something like grieving, lamenting._

_It wasn't your time._

_ That's what the bird said. It didn't open its long beak or anything but I could understand it just fine all the same._

_ I'm sorry._

_ Not your time._

_ I was near death. My breathing now dangerously thin. My eyes scraping against their sockets to look at the bird._

_ Don't worry._

_ Your friends._

_ Will help you. Your friends will._

_ The bird wasn't making any sense. I couldn't even understand it anymore. In fact, I couldn't understand anything at all. My eyes rolled unconsciously towards the moon, high in the sky and stopped there. My breathing ceased, I was dead._

_ Fire fanned out from the bird's beak. It bathed everything in bright searing red and orange. Instead of burning, the plants responded vibrantly, they suddenly turned verdant green as burning fire flooded into them. _

_ But I was a little different. I was already dead. The bird's fire flooded into my body but my soul had already departed that shell. The fire encompassed my departed soul and formed a new body for it. One that suited my true nature more easily._

_ The bird took off into the dark sky. Into that starry night. Toward that great white moon._

_ The moon._

_ A teardrop in the sky._

* * *

_ The great bird was disappointed. It couldn't transform me into Entei yet. I wouldn't know until later, but I would need my friends for that. Friendship is one hell of a thing after all._

_ Giovanni never realized it but that power he was so into finding was dearly connected deeply to that term— to 'friendship.' Of course he would probably scoff at that thought, but nonetheless: it is, and always will be._

_ Yes, I needed my friends. They needed me too. And we didn't even know it. Was it fate that we complemented each other so easily? Was it fate that all three of us were chosen by that bird to become its dogs? What is fate? Can it be changed the same way we changed time? Were we fated to change time? Or did we go against fate itself to change time and alter the timeline?_

_ Two hundred years in the future, Celebi would gather us (now as beasts, we had since died as humans and been reborn) and bring us to the past so we could battle Mewtwo. Or rather so we could distract Mewtwo while our alternate past selves traveled to the night I died and altered the time line. _

_ Isn't that strange? Why couldn't Celebi directly take us to that night, why did we have to fight Mewtwo while our past selves saved me? _

_ How did Celebi even know? It's a time-traveller, so is it doing it even now? Going back into time and guiding us into the past so that this moment can remain the way it is now?_

_ I don't know the answer, to any of those questions, but it probably relates back to fate. The moment was just structured like that. _

_ This is the destiny we selected, after all._

* * *

_ I was running through fields, forests, caves, deserts, mountains, and sometimes even through towns and over oceans. It felt great to run, and I was amazingly fast. I covered mile after mile and I wasn't alone either. I had two great friends who always ran with me. I couldn't get a good look at them but one was characterized by yellow and the other by blue. Together, the of us friends visited many lands, made many friends, and became legends._


End file.
